Syria claims 11 Lebanese Shiites kidnapped not 13

Syria confirmed Tuesday the kidnapping of around 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims along with their Syrian driver in northern Aleppo province, according to state-run SANA news agency.
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Angry Hezbollah supporters block many roads in Lebanon

Angry Hezbollah supporters took to the street on Tuesday to protest against the abduction of the 13 Lebanese Shiite men in Syria, according to security officials, fueling concerns that Lebanon is getting drawn into the Syrian chaos. (more…)

Free Syrian army denies kidnapping Lebanese Shiites

Free Syrian Army’s  Lieutenant  Colonel  Khaled  Hamoud denied on Tuesday that the FSA kidnapped Lebanese Shiite men in Syria.

“We have nothing to do with the abduction of the 13 Lebanese men in Aleppo,” Hammoud told Future News television, adding (more…)

Kidnapped Shiites: Hezbollah urges calm, Hariri condemns

The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group has appealed for calm following the abduction of 12 Lebanese Shiites in Syria and former PM condemned the abduction and called for their immediate release.

Security officials say Syrian rebels kidnapped the men Tuesday as they returned from a religious pilgrimage (more…)

Mawlawi says was forced to confess under duress

Shadi al-Mawlawi, who was arrested earlier in May, said on Tuesday that he was forced under duress to confess that he belonged to Al-Qaeda as he was being tortured and pressured (more…)

12 Lebanese Shiites kidnapped in Syria, report

Syrian rebels kidnapped 12 Lebanese Shiites in northern Syria on Tuesday, adding to fears that Lebanon is getting drawn into the chaos next door, security officials said. (more…)

Lebanon releases Mawlawi who helped Syrian refugees

Lebanon has released Chadi Mawlawi, an activist who was helping Syrian refugees and whose arrest sparked fighting in Lebanon.

The military investigating judge approved Mawlawi’s release on bail, the Lebanese state-run news agency NNA reported Tuesday.

Fighting has been under way in parts of Lebanon, including suburbs of Tripoli, in what analysts (more…)

Assad’s brother-in-law Assef Shawkat confirmed dead

The brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashir al-Assad, who also is the troubled nation’s former intelligence chief, is dead after an apparent assassination attack Sunday in Damascus, Syrian opposition leaders tell U.S. News & World Report.
The Free Syrian Army, an armed opposition group that has been fighting Assad’s military for months, said Sunday it had killed six senior members of Assad’s cabinet. (more…)

Saudi Arabia will issue travel advisory if needed, envoy

Following a meeting with Lebanon Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Grand Serail, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Assiri said on Monday that his country would issue a travel advisory restricting travel for Saudi nationals to Lebanon if the situation in the country warranted it. (more…)

How Lebanon is Threatened by Syria’s Rebellion

An uneasy, fragile calm returned to the Lebanese capital Beirut and the northern city of Tripoli on Monday, a day after the worst clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian Lebanese factions since 2008. The violence erupted after the killing of a prominent anti-Syrian Sunni cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Abdel Wahed, (more…)