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Syrian Refugees Under Fire in Lebanon in Revenge Attack

© Sputnik / Andrey Stenin / Go to the mediabankSyrian refugees in Lebanon
Syrian refugees in Lebanon - Sputnik International
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Lebanese residents attack Syrian refugee camps as tension rise over kidnapped Lebanese servicemen held in Syria.

Members of al Qaeda's Nusra Front gesture as they drive in a convoy touring villages, which they said they have seized control of from Syrian rebel factions, in the southern countryside of Idlib, December 2, 2014 - Sputnik International
Nusra Front Kills Lebanese Soldier, Threatens Civilians with Vengeance
MOSCOW, December 7 (Sputnik) – Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon came under attack twice on Sunday from Lebanese assailants, a sign of heightened tensions following the execution of a Lebanese policeman by Syrian Nusra Front militants on Friday.

"Today, unidentified gunmen sprayed Syrian tents with machine gunfire wounding a couple of refugees," the Lebanese National News Agency said on Sunday. "Gunmen on board a black SUV made off with a couple of cell phone and thousands of Syrian and Lebanese pounds," the report continued. The Lebanese Daily Star reported that an adult was wounded and a child killed in the attack, which took place at a camp west of Baalbeck, an inland town situated in the northeast of Lebanon.

An earlier bulletin Sunday morning from the NNA stated that "anonymous culprits burned a number of tents occupied by Syrian refugees in the town of Mshaha in Akar for the second day in a row," following a similar attack carried out on refugees' tents Saturday. The Star reported that there were no casualties resulting from the fire.

The United States is reportedly urging Qatar to include US citizens held captive by the Islamic State (IS) militants in any prisoner swap deal to release Lebanese servicemen. - Sputnik International
US Urges Qatar to Include American Hostages in Lebanon’s Swap Deal With IS
According to the Star, residents of the town of Bazzalieh issued a warning on Saturday to Syrian refugees residing in the town to leave the area, threatening retaliation for the execution of policeman Ali Bazzal on Friday by the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate militant organization in Syria. The paper also reports that Bazzalieh residents kidnapped three men near the town, who they later released. A Syrian man accompanying the three was also reportedly shot and subsequently taken to hospital.

Bazzal was one of a group of Lebanese servicemen held hostage by the Nusra Front since a battle in August at the Lebanese border town of Arsal. The militants abducted 30 servicemen after retreating from the area, and al-Jazeera reports that the murdered policeman was reportedly the fourth hostage killed by his captors. Relatives of those being held have been blocking roads in Lebanon to pressure the government into further action to save the men.

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