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SECURITY

Lebanese army frees eight Palestinians kidnapped by 'criminal gang'

Several young people were kidnapped by a gang posing as a smuggling network, offering to help them emigrate, according to a media report.

Lebanese army frees eight Palestinians kidnapped by 'criminal gang'

The Palestinian refugee camp in Burj al-Brajneh, Oct.11, 2023. (Credit: João Sousa/L’OLJ)

The Lebanese army announced on Wednesday that it had freed eight Palestinians from the Burj al-Barajneh refugee camp in the southern suburbs of Beirut who had been kidnapped by "a criminal gang." In a statement released in the afternoon, the military institution said it had arrested a Lebanese member of the gang and was working to arrest the rest of the group.

"On the night of Sept. 9-10, 2024, a criminal gang lured eight Palestinians residing in the Burj al-Barajneh camp to the Bekaa region under the pretext of facilitating their illegal emigration to Europe, before kidnapping them and demanding a ransom for their release," the statement said.

"The Intelligence Directorate then carried out a surveillance operation and raids, which allowed the release of the kidnapped persons on the Lebanese-Syrian border in the Hermel region and the arrest of the citizen (AA), a member of the gang, who had transported them from Beirut to the Bekaa," added the army, which affirms that an investigation has been opened and that "efforts are underway to arrest the other members of the gang."

Reminder

Palestinians block Beirut's airport road near Burj al-Barajneh after relative was kidnapped

A security source had previously told our correspondent in the Bekaa that the kidnapped Palestinians had been taken to Syria, before being handed over to the army's intelligence services at the border, thanks to the help of "tribes" present in the region.

According to the media outlet "Portal of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon," the Palestinians were allegedly lured by a group of people offering to help them travel to Italy. The kidnappers allegedly demanded a ransom, according to the same source, and tortured some of their victims, according to the testimony of the father of one of them, who said he received "videos." The mother of one of the kidnapped youths said that the group was abducted in the southern suburbs, where all contact was lost, while they were supposed to go to Tripoli (North Lebanon).

This incident had provoked the anger of the residents of the Burj al-Barajneh camp, who had blocked several roads in the south of the capital on Tuesday evening to demand the intervention of the State and the security forces.

The Lebanese army announced on Wednesday that it had freed eight Palestinians from the Burj al-Barajneh refugee camp in the southern suburbs of Beirut who had been kidnapped by "a criminal gang." In a statement released in the afternoon, the military institution said it had arrested a Lebanese member of the gang and was working to arrest the rest of the group."On the night of Sept. 9-10, 2024, a...