Mouhannad and Ghaleb, aged 13 and 15, were abducted three months ago in the Bekaa Valley. (Credit: Sarah Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Army announced on Friday that it had managed to free two Syrian teenagers who were kidnapped in the Bekaa more than two months ago, without giving further details on the operation.
"The Intelligence directorate freed, in an operation the two Syrian children Mouhannad and Ghaleb Aroub who were kidnapped in Baalbeck on Oct. 22, 2022," the Army announced on its Twitter account.
The two boys, aged 13 and 15, were kidnapped on their way home from school.
They are currently in the barracks of Ablah (Zahle caza), awaiting the arrival of their parents, according to L'Orient-Le Jour's correspondent in the Bekaa.
Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, the father of the two boys, Majd Aroub, denied having paid the sum of $45,000 demanded by the kidnappers to free his children.
A few days ago, he had asked General Joseph Aoun, commander in chief of the Lebanese Army, to intervene for the release of his children, criticizing the inaction of the authorities.
Earlier this month, Majd Aroub revealed that he had received from the kidnappers a photo of one of his children hanging by his feet from a ceiling.
In recent weeks, several sit-ins have been organized in the Bekaa to demand the release of the two teenagers. The children's uncle, Mohammad Mcheik, said during one of these actions that the kidnappers of his nephews called from a foreign number, demanded a ransom of $350,000 and threatened to sell the organs of their hostages.
The Lebanese Army had conducted several searches in recent weeks at the homes of convicts and people suspected of being involved in this kidnapping in the al-Sharawneh neighborhood in Baalbeck.
A few days ago, one suspect was killed during an army raid in this neighborhood and another, known as "Ali Chadia," was injured. Ali Chadia was taken to Dar al-Amal University Hospital in Baalbeck on Saturday in critical condition.
Additional reporting Sarah Abdallah