Another man kidnapped in Bekaa despite crackdown

A Lebanese man was kidnapped by four masked gunmen in the town of Makseh in the eastern Bekaa valley on Saturday night despite a crackdown by armed forces on the kidnap-for-ransom phenomenon. Bassel al-Mays was on his way home along with his wife when the four men blocked his road, opened fire in the air and forced the woman out of their car. They then stormed al-Mays' Nissan Pathfinder and took him to an unknown location. The incident came after the Intelligence Branch of the Internal Security Forces arrested three people involved in the kidnapping of another man earlier in the week. Ali Mansour was abducted on Tuesday night on the junction of the town of Gaza in Western Bekaa. The kidnappers first asked for a $15 million ransom but later lowered the amount to $600,000. An Nahar said Sunday that the ISF Intelligence Branch and the Army Intelligence are coordinating their efforts to set the man free. Lebanon has been witnessing a kidnapping spree of businessmen or investors but the authorities have vowed to put an end to the phenomenon. Youssef Beshara, the brother of the head of the Bakeries Association, was released for a ransom of $400,000, which was paid by his wife near Mar Mikhael church in Beirut's al-Shiyyah district. One suspect has been so far arrested. The Army Intelligence has also freed Fouad Daoud, another man abducted for ransom, following clashes with his kidnappers in the area of Tall al-Abyad in Baalbek. It also arrested one suspect.