A Syrian national was kidnapped for ransom in the Bekaa valley by human smugglers. (Credit: João Sousa/L’Orient Today)
BEIRUT — A group of human smugglers in the Bekaa have released a Syrian national after his relatives paid them a ransom, L’Orient Today’s correspondent in the region reported.
Here’s what we know:
• The smugglers kidnapped the man after he had been in contact with them to move his son out of Lebanon, the correspondent reported, adding that the victim was held hostage for four days.
• The Syrian national was released after his relatives paid a $2,000 ransom, the correspondent added.
• As the economic situation worsens in Lebanon, there has been a surge in people seeking to smuggle themselves out of the country. On Sept. 18, 2021, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees warned that it was "deeply concerned by the spike in self-organized movements by boats to Cyprus" and "distraught by the deaths and dangerous situations that many vulnerable men, women and children are put into as they desperately search for means of survival."
• According to the UNHCR, there have been at least 21 boat voyage attempts from Lebanon to Cyprus by Syrians, Lebanese and migrant workers between July and September of 2021.