Two men from Sweida go missing after returning from Lebanon

Contact was lost with two young men from Sweida while they were returning from Lebanon last Wednesday, under mysterious circumstances that raised residents’ fears they may have been arrested or abducted.

According to sources close to one of the missing men, contact was lost with Ziad Salam and Abd al-Qantar after they passed the Qasr al-Mu’tamarat checkpoint near Damascus; The last confirmed location before all communication with them was cut off.

The source explained that Ziad Salam works as a driver on the Lebanon–Sweida route, and this was his first trip since July. He reportedly departed from the Lebanese area of Aley at around 10 a.m. on his return journey to Syria.

The incident comes amid a rise in cases of arrest and kidnapping along the Damascus–Sweida highway. Last month, a bus driver and his assistant were detained for three weeks by “General Security” officers on charges of transporting “unauthorized” electronic devices. The route has also witnessed a series of kidnappings, the most notable being the abduction of four civilians from Sweida near the Aqraba Bridge.

A-H 

ANHA