Lebanese army holding Syrian men who were reportedly kidnapped outside embassy

The Lebanese army on Saturday said it was holding six Syrian men who they allege crossed illegally into Lebanese territory.

The claim followed allegations that five of the men were lured to the Syrian embassy, where they were then kidnapped by Assad regime operatives.

It was claimed that four young men "were kidnapped in front of the Syrian embassy in Beirut after being informed by an embassy employee by telephone, to come to receive their passports, which they had applied for earlier", journalist Ibrahim Awad told The New Arab’s Arabic-language site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

On Saturday the Lebanese Army released a statement saying that the men were in its custody. 

"On August 27, 2021, the Intelligence Directorate referred to the General Directorate of Public Security both Syrians (T.H) and (A.Q.), based on the signal of the Military Public Prosecution, for their surreptitious entry to Lebanese territory and their presence on it illegally," the statement said, referring to the men by their initials.

"The Intelligence Directorate in the Yarzeh area - Baabda also arrested (M.O.O.), (M.S.O.), (A.A.) and (E.S.), who are of Syrian nationality, after they entered Lebanese territory surreptitiously, with the help of smugglers," the statement added. 

توقيف أشخاص وإحالتهم إلى القضاء المختص#الجيش_اللبناني #LebaneseArmy https://t.co/48tZeRXw8A

— الجيش اللبناني (@LebarmyOfficial) August 28, 2021

The Syrian embassy in Beirut also took to Twitter to deny claims that they were involved in kidnapping. 

"Some social media circulated allegations of the disappearance of those whom it called Syrian activists who entered the Syrian embassy but did not leave it. and denies these baseless allegations," the embassy's statement read. 

According to the journalist who first raised the claims of kidnapping, then men originally hailed from the southern Syrian province of Daraa. 

"The young men came from the city of Inkhil, north of Daraa, and were fighters in the opposition ranks before 2018," Awad said. 

The Syrian regime is currently laying siege to multiple areas of Daraa. Clashes between opposition fighters and the regime's forces have intensified, as Russian-sponsored talks have collapsed.