Local official from anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces found dead in Syria: Army

A member of the anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces has been found dead in Syria after being kidnapped, Lebanon’s Army said on Monday.

Pascal Sleiman, the head of the LF’s branch in the northern town of Jbeil, was reportedly driving on Sunday before assailants blocked his car on the highway and kidnapped him.

The Lebanese Armed Forces said they had arrested “most of the Syrian gang members” involved in the kidnapping. “During investigations, it became clear that [Sleiman] was killed by the gang while they were trying to steal his car in the Jbeil area,” the Army said, adding that the body was taken to Syria.

Talks are ongoing with the Syrian government to return Sleiman’s body.

Weapons and narcotics are routinely smuggled across the border between Lebanon and Syria, which extends close to 300 miles. Iran-backed Hezbollah uses the mostly lawless border as part of its efforts to smuggle weapons into the country. Hezbollah has also sent thousands of fighters to Syria to prop up the Assad regime.

While much blame was placed on Hezbollah for Sleiman’s kidnapping and subsequent killing, the group has remained silent so far, and there has been no evidence presented that would show Hezbollah behind the murder.

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, called on all sides to exercise self-restraint and not be drawn into further violence. The sectarian makeup of Lebanon has often led to fighting, including the 1975 Civil War, which mainly pitted Christians against Muslims.

The country has been teetering on the edge of another war with Israel following Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

Hezbollah has said it would stop once a ceasefire in Gaza is reached. But there are many outspoken critics in Lebanon, including the Lebanese Forces, who say that the country can’t afford another war.

Lebanon is also dealing with one of the worst economic crises in modern history. It has been without a fully functioning government for over a year.

Rampant corruption and clientelism also saw Beirut witness one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever in 2020.