Mouhannad and Ghaleb, aged 13 and 15, were abducted three months ago in the Bekaa Valley. (Credit: Sarah Abdallah/ L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — An unnamed man died after an army raid on al-Sharawneh neighborhood of Baalbeck Saturday an another was injured, according to a Lebanese Army statement.
An individual known as “Ali Shadia” was taken to Baalbeck's Dar Al-Amal University Hospital, Saturday, with a gunshot wound following an army ambush at the entrance of the al-Sharawneh neighborhood, the Lebanese Army said. A suspect in the kidnapping of two Syrian children in Baalbeck three months ago, Shadia is currently in critical condition. The deceased man is a Syrian national. A number of wanted persons were also arrested during the operation, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region.
According to the Lebanese army, Shadia and the deceased suspect were trying to flee the scene when they opened fire on the army, prompting soldiers to fire back.
This operation follows a Lebanese army raid carried out a few days ago on the Baalbek homes of others wanted in connection to the kidnapping of Mouhannad and Ghaleb, aged 13 and 15 respectively, who were abducted in the Bekaa Valley on their way home from school late last year.
Speaking Wednesday, the father of two Syrian teenagers kidnapped three months ago in Baalbeck urged Lebanese army commander Gen. Joseph Aoun to intervene for their release, criticizing inaction on the part of the authorities.
In recent weeks the Bekaa Valley has seen several protests demanding the release of the kidnapped teenagers. During a recent demonstration, the children's uncle, Mohammad Mcheik, claimed that his nephews' kidnappers had called from a foreign phone number, demanded a ransom of $350,000 and threatened to sell their hostages' organs.
The Lebanese army conducted searches last November at the homes of various suspected kidnappers in Baalbeck's Sharawneh neighborhood.
Security incidents are frequent in Baalbeck — an area where armed groups are rife, that is partially beyond the control of the state.
Additional reporting by Sarah Abdallah.