Fears of Shiite-Sunni Tension over Lebanese Hostages in Syria
The mysterious case of 11 Lebanese Shiites who were taken hostage in Syria last week is raising fears of renewed street battles in Beirut as Lebanon increasingly gets drawn into the swirling chaos next door.
The Syrian crisis already has spilled across the border into Lebanon over the past three weeks, sparking deadly violence in a country that remains deeply divided over the 15-month-old uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad.
But the Shiites' abduction is potentially explosive, in part because it enflames Lebanon's fragile Sunni-Shiite fault line. It could also spark retaliatory attacks against the thousands of Syrians in Lebanon.
In recent days, Hizbullah members have deployed at the entrances of Beirut's southern suburbs to prevent any moves by angry protesters.
Hizbullah is a staunch ally of the Syrian regime, where a predominantly Sunni uprising is trying to oust the Assad family dynasty. The families of the kidnapped Shiites blame Syria's Sunni rebels for abducting the men.
"The kidnapping is clearly intended to drag Hizbullah into the Syrian quagmire," said Ziad Baalbaki, a 37-year-old Lebanese insurance broker in Beirut. "The whole thing is fishy, everyone is worried what will happen if they are not released or they turn out to be dead."
The Lebanese men were on their way back from a pilgrimage in Iran on May 22 when gunmen intercepted their buses in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo, according to the women on the pilgrimage who were allowed to go free and arrived in Lebanon hours later.
Since then, no one has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. There were reports Friday that the hostages were about to be released, prompting a rush on the airport by family members. But the men never arrived, and it became clear the release plans went awry.
One opposition figure who said he spoke to the kidnappers told The Associated Press that the hostage takers decided not to release the men after Syrian forces began attacking rebel areas in Aleppo. Now, he said, the kidnappers are demanding Syrian authorities release 500 opposition detainees, including Lt. Col. Hussein Harmoush, one of the first officers to defect after the uprising began. Harmoush was later arrested by authorities during a special operation.
Lebanese officials and Syrian activists have said the men are being held in an area near the Turkish border, but there is little credible information about their fate. Shiite leaders in Lebanon have scrambled to deny various rumors that might aggravate the situation — including reports that one of the hostages is related to Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
"The information indicates that they are alive and in good health. This is what the Syrian opposition and Turkish officials confirm," Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told An-Nahar daily Monday.
Shortly after news of the abduction broke last Tuesday, dozens of angry protesters blocked major roads with burning tires and threatened to kidnap Syrians in Lebanon as a form of retaliation. The protesters went home only after Nasrallah went on TV, calling for calm and saying no Syrians in Lebanon should be harmed.
"They were kidnapped because they are Shiite, not for any other reason," said Mohammed Mir, a Lebanese Shiite. "Had they been returning from Haj in Saudi Arabia (a Sunni country) would anyone have dared to kidnap them?"
In the Bir el-Abed district south of Beirut on Monday, five female relatives of the kidnapped men sat silently inside the office of the religious tour agency Badr al-Kubra, which organized the pilgrimage.
The room was decorated with large posters of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Nasrallah, and the group's late military commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was assassinated in a car bomb in Damascus in 2008.
The women refused to be interviewed, saying they were worried it would hurt the negotiations taking place for the hostages' release.
The case has the potential to inflame sectarian tensions in Lebanon and trigger retaliatory attacks against tens of thousands of Syrians nationals now in Lebanon. The overwhelming majority of rebels fighting Assad's regime are Sunni Muslims, while Assad and the ruling elite in Syria belong to the tiny Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
Tensions from Syria have already spilled into Lebanon and clashes between Alawites and anti-Assad Lebanese Sunni groups in Lebanon's second largest city of Tripoli killed eight people earlier this month.
Aleppo-based activist Mohammed Saeed said the kidnappers have "impossible demands" from the regime in return for the release of the hostages, such as setting free all Aleppo province detainees and the withdrawal of the Syrian army from some areas.
"They are dealing with them (hostages) as if they are members of the regime," Saeed said.
29 May 2012, 11:43
12
This article is pure speculation why should there strife because of the 11 kidnapped pilgrims I mean these are lebanese people who got kidnapped so we are all praying for them to come back healthy no matter which sect we belong to !!!
29 May 2012, 12:38
23
To Tayyar
"Why should there strife because of the 11 kidnapped pilgrims" Really!!!
Where have you been living in the past couple of months - Tahiti???
Haven't you noticed that everytime an incident happened - even a regular personal murder incident - had turned into tire burning/road closure & clashes.
29 May 2012, 11:57
53
Obviously Naharnet did not write the article. AP did.
I agree however that it was really stupid of Naharnet to republish it on its website.
29 May 2012, 12:35
10
FloatingTurd a couple of days ago you warened about 'the inevitably coming shiite explosion'.. bravo FlamingToad you called it buddy those violent Shiite are Ashura brain damaged unstable savages and who knows who they will attack this time...
29 May 2012, 12:36
27
Why are they still being held? And why are the "pilgrims" being treated as if they are elements of the Assad Regime? It is because they are elements of Hezbollah, sent to Syria to help the Syrian Regime kill Syrian Opposition protesters and to shoot Syrian Army elements who refuse to shoot the Syrian protesters.
Hezbollah involved itself into the Syrian Crisis and it was that unilateral Hezbollah intervention into Syria by sending its fighters there that has precipitated this crisis.
Let us speak plainly the truth of this matter. As Hezbollah took a unilateral decision to attack Israel in 2006, bringing destruction to Lebanon, now in 2012, it has done the same in Syria to the same disastrous result. An organization run by a rat living in a hole in the ground is not fit to be making such unilateral decisions that affect the security of the whole Lebanon.
29 May 2012, 15:28
15
a debatable point?
where do you live? in fantasy world?
there is no debate about this: you go and kidnap soldiers and engage in an armed conflict on israeli land: this is called an aggression pure and simple!
this aggression cost lebanon several billions of dollars and several thousands of lives.
and you fpmers are asking where are the billions?????
man you are twisted.
29 May 2012, 15:35
01
The reason that HA is responsible is that they have taken a prominent role in a dictatorial axis which includes Syria (Assad) and Iran. Their every action is meant to defend and promote that alliance's agenda. HA has been a war monger and a power grabber and the Lebanese people have been their pawns. A civil war will be their fault ... and maybe their ruin!
29 May 2012, 12:41
14
This is very dangerous indeed.
When the news of the abduction came - The only thing that prompted the Shiaa protesters to calm down was their trust in Nasrallah re-assurance that the abducted are ok, and they are working on their release...What will happen if that trust is broken, and the abductees were found to be murdered??? What will calm them down then??? - chances are they won't listen to Nasrallah, and things will go out of hand.
The Maestro - the one who has been playing with Lebanon's fate recently - has now acquired a card that would enflame Sunni/Shiaa strife. And everyone is trying to figure out how he will play it.
29 May 2012, 13:19
02
I think that every Lebanese is praying for the safe return of these detained, for their sake and for the country's sake. Yet, this brings memories of the Lebanese war when similar events used to happen, and when information is contradictory and people pull out of negotiations, it usually meant that the detained were assassinated. I hope and pray that they are alive and well and are back imminently safe and sound.
29 May 2012, 13:30
43
if they are HA members like stated on other websites , i am praying so they come back to Lebanon in wooden boxes !
29 May 2012, 14:07
02
Slash
Has it occurred to you that someone might has purposely portrayed them as HA members for the sole purpose of turning Lebanese against each other...When the Pilgrims were ubducted Lebanese were all united in their hope for their release, and Hariri spearheaded the efforts for their release. Don't you think that someone might have fabricated such report to push Hariri into withdrawing his efforts to release them...knowing that Hariri's efforts were precisely defusing Sunni/Shia tension in Lebanon...Don't you think that one seeking to enflame Lebanon might fabricate such news, so as Naive/ignorant people like you will take them for fact, and say what you just have said and turn Lebanese against each other again.
29 May 2012, 14:30
24
I said if , so your comment goes into water ! And it is my opinion i have the right to say whatever i feel .... adress your comment to the chimp FT when he wishes death to more than half of the lebanese , it will make more sense than 11 people ;)
29 May 2012, 15:32
13
all speculations are correct, untill and if we ever know the truth about this matter.
what s important is that someone is trying desperately to create a civil war in lebanon by all means:
- did you ask yourselves why did the army delay its intervention in the north for 4 days?
- why did it not respond to sniper fire from jabal mohsen?
- and now we have these 11 lebanese abducted all from one secte....
- why this shiite officer who had a beef with the killed cheikh was placed on that particular checkpoint?
if you have any answer for this, I am open to discuss.
29 May 2012, 15:55
12
To geha
The army did not delay its intervention for 4 days. the army was there from the begining. Your question should be why it hasn't it forced the peace upon the belligerent, the answer is that Lebanese army cannot do what the Syrian army is doing, i.e. Lebanese army cannot attack a residential area...so the Army has to wait until all residents and parties in the conflict agree on the Lebanese army to deploy there, or else the Army would be accused of taking sides in a dispute between 2 Lebanese sects. Same goes for the sniper fire.
- Who told you that the officer was a Shiite one...It that was the case, the media would have caused a frenzy over it since day one.
I want to add a couple of more questions.- Why was there a deliberate attack on the army, and an immediate request for it to withdraw from Akkar, before the details of the events got investigated???
- Was the Ras Beirut incident a coincidence too???
29 May 2012, 13:59
04
Slash, I am a March 14 supporter but what you said was 3ayb! very dis-respectful. I think M8 are sheep and the main cause of our political problems, but what you said goes past politics and is un-acceptable. thsoe people have families and kids, have some decency!
29 May 2012, 14:36
23
Patriot i have nothing against you , we are in the same camp and we have different points of view ... maybe you take the slap and you turn the other cheek, but me before it hits i already broke the hand ! I dont care if they have families or kids the same way they dont care that others have kids and fmailies , we are not selling potatoes it is a question of existence ... we didnt spill too much blood , get our beloved raped and killed by the same people they are siding with and every time we criticze them there is a gun pointed to our heads , if you want to live a hostage it is your choice , me not ;)
29 May 2012, 15:32
13
Seriously Slash. Every article is turned into the same old "we have a gun pointed at our head".
This is only about 11 Pilgrims or 11 Hezbollah fighters supporting Assad.
For now we all think it´s 11 innocent pilgrims, and we are hoping it stays like that. If they are, it´s our duty as Lebanese to stand with them and with their families. Not to trashtalk them and bring up the "we are under attack" story over and over again.
IF they were there to support Assad---) La kol hadisn hadis they say, huh?
29 May 2012, 16:53
13
Ulpianus , read Geha's comment it will give you the reason you are searching for !
29 May 2012, 17:21
14
Ok. But, still dont let "them" turn you into a sheep ( sorry for the expression) meaning that they swear, you fall into the trap and swear back.
Lets try to be objective and substantial in our analysis off every article. However starts a fight is not the most guilty. All the participants are equally guilty.
(Dont ask me why I´m writing this, I mostly seek to refrain from "personal" discussions! So this makes no sense )
29 May 2012, 18:49
14
slash, allah ywaf2ak tawil bellak shwei. we cannot be like them! we only respond to and never lunch at them, the verbal onslaught. Ma3ak 7a2 miyeh bil miyeh ok? bass ana i adopted a new style. I want to discuss issues openly and facutally and refrain from cursing where possible but when someone start lobbing grenades about shooting us in the head and dissolving us in acid I will retaliate at will. Please consider as a favor to those of us who agree with you and enjoy your posts, trying this method.
29 May 2012, 13:59
13
why would there be a strife in lebanon for something happening in syria? it isn t a lebanese group that abducted the pilgrims but syrians!
was there a strife because 3 lebanese pilgrims got killed in irak by a roadside bomb and others wounded?
so why would there be one now? other than because of M8 double standards?...
so, if there is a strife in lebanon because of that it would mean that lebanese are beyond mental salvage...
29 May 2012, 18:30
50
M14 and M8 have double standards, not just M8. I can give you a long, long, very long list of every double standards both camps committed. But they remain unaccountable for them because their followers are blind and will continue to support them because they come from the same religious sect.
29 May 2012, 14:08
15
You can put your head in sand if you want. It wont change the fact.
29 May 2012, 14:33
23
Stop treating others with filth and hatred every time you try to say something or think about saying something filth comes out of you just shut up ... your moral lessons keep them to brainwashed people like you ... look how your Hezballa turned the country , your pseudo is sufficient w ina hezballa hom el ghaliboun , ghaliboun who ? lebanese citizens and lebanese sovereignty ! go get a brain ;)
29 May 2012, 15:34
14
guys,
the problem is that none of you is better than the other!
look at FT, Mowaten, Galiboun, rudes and other names....
your comments on this site are offending to most readers, and you expect no replies?
you insult people, talk about their mothers,.... and all that to what purpose?
29 May 2012, 19:29
14
@FT : In view of the fact that God limited your intelligence it seems unfair that He did not also limit your stupidity. Feel more lucky loser because you are doing a fair share of stupid things in your life, a couple of which should have put you in the grave. But here you are, typing as if you had a brain.
29 May 2012, 19:10
12
above is direct at saint galiboun, not geha but i think geha already knows that.
29 May 2012, 19:34
52
@bandoul
Hezbollah is not the only armed group in Lebanon. Sure, they may be more militarily sophisticated than others, but their high-tech weapons are designed for long-range, guerilla warfare tactics. The AK's and the M16s you worry about are owned by the majority of Lebanese by both camps. To criticize this is to criticize the weakness of the state to monopolize its control of weapons.
While Hezbollah is an Iranian-backed armed group, there are many other Saudi-backed armed groups in Lebanon. You are right that Hezbollah used its weapons against the Lebanese, an act it promised never to do. But the armed groups in the North also used their weapons against the Lebanese, and many other Lebanese from different political camps have used their weapons for political ends. To criticize Hezbollah for the reasons you are criticizing them for, you might as well criticize the other political camps, for they engage in the same kind of actions.
29 May 2012, 20:07
05
gcb1
You cannot compare Hezbollah with other armed groups.
First-All Other armed groups in Lebanon are already considered as outlaws by majority of Lebanese and Sunnis. These groups are already being pursued by all Lebanese security agencies, and being put in jail when identified and caught.
The majority Sunni Lebanese do not identify themselves with these armed gangs - the 2007 Nahr el Bared events showed how strongly the Sunni stood by their army against those fanatics. I wonder whom does the majority of the Shiaa community identify itself with, and will it stand by the Army if it confronted Hizbullah???
29 May 2012, 20:13
04
At gcb1 (continued)
"many other Lebanese from different political camps have used their weapons for political ends"
Give me one instance where M14 camp used armed gangs's weapons and forced a political solution in their favor??? You can't.
On the opposite Hizbullah used its arms in May 2008 to force a M14 who won the majority of Parliament in 2005 & 2009, to force itself on the government in 2008 and overthrow it in 2010, when he was displeased with the 2009 election results.
29 May 2012, 21:33
23
You bring up valid points. I always believed that the reason Hezbollah's weapons could present problems in Lebanon is that they are not seen as a Lebanese armed group but rather as a Shiaa group. This is problematic.
All I meant to say is that all Lebanese people have weapons and this is a threat to all of Lebanon. Just look what happened last week in Tripoli. People were not satisfied over an incident and resorted to weapons. Furthermore, whether there is broad support or not to some of the armed groups in Lebanon was not my point. My point was to show that there are armed groups that are backed by Saudi Arabia, and not ONLY Iran.
As for Hariri, according to Wikileaks, he does have fighters that he directly supports. Other prominent, unbiased journalists have made similar claims. I do not overtly support Hezbollah and view them as angels; all I meant to say was that there are other armed groups that operate in Lebanon and that other political camps support.
29 May 2012, 21:35
04
On another note, I am happy that we are able to discuss without having to insult one another, even though we may have some disagreements. This is something users on this site need to learn.
29 May 2012, 21:49
04
gcb1
I beg to differ...the lack of broad support from Sunni to these armed groups is the main reason why the army is capable of rounding them up, and bring them to justice when they go out of line or break the law.
Can the Lebanese army round up Hizbullah members, and bring him to justice, if they break the law, or go out of line, like the ones that shot down an Army Helicopter??? NO, you know why???, because Hizbullah will cause a civil war to erupt. But when the army rounded up several hundred Sunni fighers in Nahr El Bared, you didn't see Mustakbal calling for civil war for it, at the contrary it supported the army 100%
29 May 2012, 23:30
41
anonymetexasusa - You lost me as soon as you mentioned Nahr El Bared and Sunni Fighters! I guess the Sunni's still hold the Palestinian terrorists above there fellow Lebanese??? Nothing changes.
30 May 2012, 04:05
13
Ashrafieh,
I am not replying instead of anonymous, but I believe what he meant is totally different from hat you understood.
he is talking about the lebanese sunni salafis who were rounded up then and still in jail for 5 years without trial.
please do not jump to conclusions, and re read each other's comments before replying.
we need to avoid conflicts and insults: a blog is a place where people cn share ideas, and the street is the place to fist fight.
30 May 2012, 07:00
10
Have to agree with FT Naharnet is just simply adding fuel to the fire and there is no need for this.
