The fate of Pascal Sleiman, the Lebanese Forces coordinator in the Byblos area, remains unknown after he was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen on the road from Abadit to Amchit while attending a condolence gathering in the village of Kharba. In a morning demonstration, a number of protesters blocked the Byblos highway in both directions, as well as the coastal road, in an attempt to pressure authorities into revealing Sleiman's whereabouts.
The media department of the Lebanese Forces issued a statement calling on the merchants, dignitaries, municipalities, and notables of Byblos to close all shops in the region, both coastal and inland, on Monday in protest against the abduction of Byblos resident Pascal Sleiman. The Lebanese Forces also called upon allied and independent parties and figures to stand together in denunciation and to repel any attacks on public and private liberties in Lebanon.
Last night, the army intelligence and security agencies began intensive efforts to locate him. One supporter of the Lebanese Forces reported that he was on a phone call with Sleiman when he heard him say that a car had blocked his path and someone pointed a gun at him. Sleiman was heard pleading, "Don't kill me, I'm a father, I have children."
According to reports, the security agencies began reviewing surveillance cameras in the area surrounding the kidnapping to track the path taken by the abductors, while Sleiman's vehicle remained at the site of the incident. As news spread, a large number of Lebanese Forces supporters, as well as members of the Lebanese Forces, the Kataeb Party, and the Free Patriotic Movement, gathered at the Lebanese Forces coordination center in Mistita-Byblos before the arrival of the party's leader, Samir Geagea.
