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Dozens of Syrians kidnapped in Beirut: state agency

16 August 2012 01:48 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Dozens of Syrians were kidnapped and Syrian-owned shops vandalised in Beirut on Wednesday, Lebanon’s state news agency said, after unconfirmed reports that several Lebanese taken hostage in Syria had been killed, APA reports quoting AFP.

Gunmen have taken to the streets in the Shiite southern suburb of Tiro, the National News Agency said.

"Some of the attackers vandalised shops, destroyed cars for sale, and kidnapped dozens of Syrians," it said. "The situation has got out of control."

The violence erupted after unconfirmed reports were broadcast claiming several Lebanese kidnapped in Syria in May were killed in an air strike in the northern town of Aazaz on Wednesday.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, seven of the 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims kidnapped in Syria were injured, but none was killed.

Violence in neighbouring Syria has often spilled over into Lebanon in the form of cross-border shootings, shelling by the Syrian army, tit-for-tat kidnappings and sectarian clashes between groups which are divided over the revolt.