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US and Turkey issues travel warning against Lebanon

Friday, 17 August 2012 22:29

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The United States and Turkey on Friday warned their nationals against travelling to Lebanon, following mass kidnappings which included the reported abduction of another Turkish citizen.

The warnings came after around 20 people including one Turk were taken hostage in Beirut on Wednesday and another Turkish national on Thursday, according to the ministry.

On Wednesday, a Lebanese Shiite Muslim clan had claimed it had kidnapped a group of Syrians and the Turkish man after a family member was kidnapped this week by a Syrian rebel group which accused him of being a Hezbollah sniper.

The U.S. warned that its nationals face increased threats to their security in Lebanon, including the possibility of targeted kidnappings or terrorist attacks.

“The U.S. embassy has received reports of an increased possibility of attacks against U.S. citizens in Lebanon,” the embassy said in a statement, according to AFP news agency.

“Possible threats include kidnapping, the potential for an upsurge in violence, the escalation of family or neighborhood disputes, as well as U.S. citizens being the target of terrorist attacks in Lebanon.”

Meanwhile, the Turkish government said it was continuing efforts at multilateral level for the release of the two kidnapped citizens, according to the ministry statement.

“It is deemed beneficial if our citizens avoid travelling to Lebanon unless absolutely necessary,” said the ministry in a statement.

On Friday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said the Turk who was kidnapped Wednesday was a representative of a Turkish company doing business in Lebanon and that he had nothing to do with politics.

Speaking to reporters, Gul said he had met with the Lebanese prime minister and foreign minister in Mecca on Thursday and demanded the immediate release of all those kidnapped.

Gul noted that the release of the Turkish businessman would “contribute to Turkish-Lebanese relations.”

The kidnappings sparked concern from Lebanon’s president, who held urgent talks with security chiefs and ministers on Thursday following the eruption of violence.

“I met with security leaders and the ministers concerned to discuss the issue of kidnappings and counter-kidnappings,” President Michel Sleiman said.

“We hope to resolve this diplomatically,” he said. “God willing, the Lebanese in Syria will be released and so will the kidnapped Syrians in Lebanon.”

Lebanese Shiite ‘clan’

But according to a report from the Associated Press, the powerful Shiite Muslim clan vowed further kidnappings of more Syrians in retaliation for the seizure of family member, Hassane Salim al-Meqdad, by rebels in Syria this week.

The Lebanese clan said on Thursday it has “halted” its “military operations” after reportedly kidnapping a group of Syrian opposition members and a Turkish citizen.

“At this moment, we halted all military operations on Lebanese territory. This announcement is because we have a sufficient number of Syrians linked to the Free Syrian Army,” said Maher al-Meqdad, spokesman for the clan which is demanded the release of a kinsman held in Syria.

But in an Associated Press report the clan claimed to have abducted more Syrian nationals and vowed further kidnappings

Maher al-Meqdad, a relative of the kidnapped Meqdad, warned on Thursday that “if anything happens to Hassane, we will kill the Turkish hostage we have and many others. But we will start with the Turks.”

Rebels who kidnapped Meqdad claimed he was a member of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, a staunch supporter of President Bashar Assad’s regime. Hezbollah and his family deny this.

Speaking to The Associated Press, Maher al-Meqdad said the clan has snatched more Syrians and warned that it would go on with further kidnappings until their clansman is released. He could not give an exact number but said the clan was now holding more than 20 captives.

On Thursday, the state-run Lebanese news agency also said that dozens more Syrians were kidnapped and their shops vandalized by rioters in Shiite areas of Beirut on Wednesday.

Several Gulf states ordered their nationals on Wednesday to leave Lebanon, with the United Arab Emirates warning that the situation was “very dangerous.”

Violence in Syria has spilled over into Lebanon, denting the country’s already fragile security situation, with cross-border shootings, shelling by the Syrian army, tit-for-tat kidnappings and sectarian clashes.

Lebanon has taken in around 38,000 refugees from the conflict across the border in Syria, which erupted in March last year.

Waiting in anticipation

Turkish national Aydın Tufan Tekin was kidnapped by armed members of the Shiite Meqdad clan in Beirut in the early morning hours on Tuesday. President Gül, who happened to be attending an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Mecca, met with Lebanese President Michel Sulaiman to discuss the issue personally.

According to information provided by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Aydın Tufan Tekin arrived to Beirut from Istanbul where he got in a taxi at the airport. Soon after, the taxi was stopped by members of the Meqdad clad, which then proceeded to abduct Tekin.

The Meqdad clan says it is seeking to put pressure on the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to release Hassan al-Meqdad by targeting both Syrians it says are part of the rebel force and citizens of Turkey, one of the rebels' regional sponsors.

Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has supposedly called the Turkish businessman's family to relay that the state is doing everything in its power to ensure Tekin's release. Lebanese Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan Mansour also made a demand for Tekin's release by calling Hassan al-Meqdad's brother Hatem to request Tekin be freed.

The spokesman for the clan responded by stating, "We will not even release one shoe belonging to our captives so long as our brother Hassan al-Meqdad is not released. We kidnapped a Turk, because Turkey is offering support to the Syrian opposition. If anything happens to Hassan, the Turk will be the first to go."

The Lebanese Shiite Meqdad clan has taken over 30 hostages, mostly Syrian with the exception of one Turk, in response to the detainment of Hassan Salim al-Meqdad under the premise of his being a member of Hezbollah. Hassan's family says he was a regular person who worked at a bank in Syria.

Meanwhile, the driver of a Turkish-licensed lorry carrying petroleum was abducted in the southern region of Beirut. Eye witnesses claim they saw two people forcibly abduct the driver and a Syrian national accompanying him, who they then forced into a jeep and took off.

AA reporters Mustafa Yıldız and Ogün Yıldız have managed to contact Aydın Tufan Tekin, who is being held by members of the Meqdad clan. Explaining that he reached Beirut at around noon, Tufan Tekin said that he boarded a taxi as soon as he exited the airport after which he was kidnapped.

Tekin expressed that he believes that if Hassan al-Meqdad was released in Syria, then he too would be set free. Tekin stated that he hopes the Turkish government will contact the Free Syrian Army to secure Hassan al-Meqdad's release to solve the situation peacefully before anything undesirable transpires.

Although the Meqdad clan wanted Tekin to speak in English, they did allow him to deliver a special message to his family in Turkish. Tekin stated, "I want to tell my family that I am doing fine. They are treating me well; I do not have any problems. I am in good health and spirits, thenk you," stated Tekin.

When asked, "Did you speak that way because you are under pressure?" Tekin responded by stating, "No, there are definitely no problems. They help me in every way. When I say I want to take a shower, they bring me a clean towel. They bring me fruit and they bring me food," explained Tekin.

Aydın Tufan Tekin's family who hail from Muğla's Marmaris district want their son to be released as soon as possible. Aydın's father Mahmut Tekin explained that when they first heard the news they were shocked. "Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu called us late at night.

Everyone is doing all they can. All we want is for our son to return home to us safe and sound". Mahmut Tekin explained that his son worked as a sales director for a firm's Eastern Mediterranean operations.

Meqdad

The Meqdad clan is the third largest Shiite resistance group in Lebanon. Although they are the third largest of its kind in Lebanon following the Amal Movement led by Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri and the Hezbollah organization run by Hasan Nasrallah, their militia, which is heavily present in southern Lebanon and Bekaa, is so strong even the Hezbollah cannot mess with.

Source: Al Arabiya and Sabah

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