Kidnapped priest released – Hezbollah denies any involvement

Monday evening saw the release of the pastor of the Church of Aid in Baalbek; Father Walid Gharios also known as Elias Maroun Gharios, who was abducted by unidentified persons in a "Grand Cherokee" at the junction of the town of Ansar in Baalbek.

Following several calls made by a member of Hezbollah's Shura, Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, the priest was transferred to the Deir Al-Ahmar  Maronite Archdiocese and then moved to a house. Yazbeck confirmed that Hezbollah struggled to get the kidnappers to release him.          

For his part, Father Gharios announced that he would forgive his assaulter's stressing that he would not allow anyone to drag the area into sectarian tensions.

The National News Agency reported that the abduction occurred after the priest had baptized a Muslim girl.          

In a similar incident, gunshots were fired at the house of another priest in the area two days earlier.