Charbel: No political reasons behind abduction of Kuwaiti national

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said the kidnapping of a Kuwaiti national in east Lebanon was not politically-motivated, and that the security forces and Army intelligence are working relentlessly to secure his release, in remarks published Sunday. Speaking to An-Nahar, Charbel said “preliminary investigation indicates no political reasons” behind the kidnapping of the Kuwaiti citizen. Issam al-Houty was kidnapped by gunmen in Hawsh al-Ghanam in the eastern Bekaa region outside his house. Reports said his wife informed the Kuwaiti Embassy of the abduction. Meanwhile, Kuwait's Ambassador to Lebanon told the Kuwait-based Al-Anbaa newspaper that no party has announced responsibility for the kidnapping yet, denying rumors that a $500,000 ransom was asked in exchange of al-Houty. Following a spate of kidnappings of Syrian and Turkish nationals along with threats by local groups to target Gulf citizens in tit-for-tat abductions, Kuwait and several other countries issued travel advisories, asking its citizens to avoid traveling to the country. Kuwait has also said that most of its citizens have been evacuated. An-Nahar also reported Sunday that 50,000 Kuwait nationals have left the country due to safety concerns. (daily star)