Mustaqbal Says Arsal Resident Tortured, Killed by Syria

A Lebanese man from the northeastern border town of Arsal was tortured before being killed by Syrian forces, al-Mustaqbal Movement’s Arsal department said on Sunday.

“Arsal bids farewell at noon to its martyr Hussein al-Hujeiri, who was killed by the Syrian regime’s criminality after its troops made an incursion into Lebanese territory in Arsal’s hills, where they kidnapped Hujeiri and his companions Wissam Kranbi and Nayef Rayed,” the department said in a statement.

“They took them into Syrian territory after assaulting them as they were on a hunting trip in the Wadi al-Shahout area,” it added.

It noted that Hujeiri’s body, which was retrieved by Lebanon’s General Security agency on Saturday, carried “torture” marks.

“He was hit on the head with a sharp object while the fate of his two companions is still unknown,” Mustaqbal said.

“We are exerting efforts with General Security to unveil their fate, liberate them and return them safe to their families and country,” it added.

Describing the incident as a “dangerous attack on Arsal and its people,” the department lamented that “the Lebanese border is being violated daily by the Syrian regime’s army.”

“Arsal cannot accept the continuation of this dangerous situation on its border and it calls on the Lebanese state to pay attention anew to its border area and to activate the Lebanese Army’s missions in controlling the border and preventing the violation of Lebanese sovereignty,” Mustaqbal’s department in Arsal urged.