Kidnapped Lebanese could be in Azaz area near Aleppo: UCB

Syrian opposition leaders were certain that the 12 Lebanese Shiite who were kidnapped in Syria on their way home from Iran were in the custody of the regime’s army.
“We have information that the Lebanese were kidnapped in Azaz area, which is under the control of the government’s army,” spokesman of the Union of the Coordination Bodies of the Revolution Muhammad Al-Halabi told Arab News over the telephone from Aleppo.
He said the Azaz area was controlled by the regime’s army that was trying to restore the areas surrounding it from the grip of the Syrian Free Army.
“The areas around Aleppo are sensitive to the government army as they are close to the borders with Turkey,” he said.
Al-Halabi said lawyers in Aleppo were organizing a sit-in protest at the General Syndicate of Lawyers in the city while a large student demonstration was also expected.
“Demonstrations in the city are continuing,” he added.
Member of the Syrian National Council (SNC) Dr. Muhammad Bashir Haddad said by kidnapping Lebanese citizens, the regime was aiming to export the crisis to Lebanon.
He said the regime kidnapped the Lebanese Shiites as a means of blackmailing the city that witnessed the largest demonstrations against the regime last Friday.
Haddad, however, dismissed the possibility of the government army storming the city because of its nearness to the borders with Turkey.
Aleppo is the second largest city in Syria. More than 550 residents of the city were killed during confrontations with the regular army during which more than 190,000 people were arrested.
Observers believe that with Aleppo entering into the confrontations with the government army, the days of the regime might be numbered.
Talking to Arab News, Muhammad Al-Mazeed Al-Turkawi, member of the SNC, hinted that Turkey might impose a buffer zone along its borders with Syria if the security conditions in Aleppo got worse. “This step is left to the discretion of the Turkish leaders in the light of the developments that might tale place along the borders,” he said.