It is hard to keep track of the crises currently gripping Lebanon. There is a political crisis leading up to shaky parliamentary elections, a governmental crisis against the backdrop of war in neighboring Syria and an economic crisis amid labor demands and a series of strikes. In addition, the security crisis has been accompanied by peculiar incidents involving kidnapping, drug trafficking and prison riots.

The kidnapping trade

During the Lebanese civil war, kidnappings and counterkidnappings were weapons of war used by rival groups. In the 1980s, political motives led to a wave of kidnappings of westerners. Two years ago brought the new phenomenon of kidnapping well-off individuals and negotiating their release in return for a ransom. It began concurrently with the political, economic and military crises generated by the events in Syria and in recent weeks has turned into an all-consuming and worrying crime wave. It suffices to read the February report issued by the Lebanese Ministry of Interior, which states that security forces had arrested 47 people suspected of involvement in kidnappings.

According to one security official, some abductions remain confidential, because the victims prefer to conduct secret negotiations with the kidnappers and not to inform the authorities. Their actions are prompted by the inability of the security forces in most cases to free the hostages and to arrest the kidnappers even after a ransom has been paid.