Lebanon to file UN complaint over Israel’s abduction of Lebanese citizen

By Wassim Seifeddine

BEIRUT (AA) – Lebanon said Saturday that it will file a complaint with the UN Security Council regarding the Israeli abduction of a Lebanese citizen.

A Lebanese citizen was kidnapped on Friday in a suspected Israeli naval operation in Batroun, about 30 kilometers north of Beirut.

Lebanese authorities said that the abductee was a sea captain, denying that he was a Hezbollah commander.

A statement by Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s office said the premier instructed his Foreign Minister Abdullah Bouhabib to file a UN complaint over the abduction.

The statement said Mikati contacted Army Commander General Joseph Aoun to be briefed on the ongoing investigation into the circumstances of the case.

Mikati also reached out to the command of the UN peacekeeping mission (UNIFIL), which confirmed that it is conducting the necessary investigations and coordinating with the army on this matter, the statement added.

Mikati emphasized the need to “expedite the investigations to clarify the circumstances of this case and to set matters right.”

Israel has escalated its air campaign in Lebanon since late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets in an escalation from year-long cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Nearly 2,900 people have been killed and more than 13,000 injured in Israeli attacks since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Israel expanded the conflict by launching an incursion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala