Kidnappings in Lebanon…

It’s only Tuesday and already there have been a number of kidnappings in Lebanon this week. Today, two Arsal residents were abducted when a passenger van they were riding in was ambushed by militants in northeast Lebanon. According to the Daily Star, today’s abduction was a retaliatory kidnapping carried out one day after a Halbata resident from the Saifeddine family was kidnapped in Arsal.

Yesterday, Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces announced that they had busted a kidnapping ring in north Lebanon that stands accused of abducting defected members of the Syrian army. Over the past few months, there has been an increase in the kidnapping of soldiers and officers who have deserted the Syrian army to join the rebels. Kidnapping in Lebanon these days is not limited to adults (i.e. kid-napping). Earlier this week, a 16 year-old Syrian refugee named Aya–pictured to the left–was kidnapped in Baalbek.