BEIRUT: Members of the Hujeiri family blocked Taalbaya’s road Monday to demand the release of two relatives abducted from their home Saturday.
While the kidnappers have yet to be identified, relatives of Mustapha Hujeiri, 32, and Khaled Hujeiri, 23, have accused the Hamieh family of being behind the crime.
Four SUVs with tinted windows arrived at the family’s residence Saturday, kidnapped them, and drove them towards Zahleh.
The kidnapped men’s sister told LBCI TV that the gunmen claimed to be from a state security agency, but when asked to show their badges or arrest warrants, they responded by threatening to shoot her.
The Bekaa Valley is a hotbed of abductions, which are usually carried out for financial reasons in the lawless region. But the family suspects sectarian motives with this incident.
The sister told LBCI that after ISIS beheaded soldier Mohammad Hamieh last month, the family received a phone call from an unknown caller saying there was a plan to kidnap one of the two brothers.
Hujeiri is a prominent family in Arsal, where fundamentalist groups ISIS and Nusra Front clashed with Army troops for five days in August. Some accuse the Hujeiris of collaborating with jihadists.
About 27 soldiers and policemen are still held hostage by the two groups, after three had been executed and seven released.
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