Jordanian official reported freed

Syrian sources said April 14 that the Jordanian charge d'affaires in Lebanon, Hisham Moheisen, who was kidnapped from his residence Feb. 6, had been released in the Lebanese resort town of Shtoura.

Monitor Mideast correspondent John Yemma reports that there was no immediate Western or Jordanian confirmation of this development. But several Lebanese media sources reported that Mr. Moheisen had been found -- one saying he was picked up by the Syrian Arab Deterrent Force near the besieged town of Zahle.

Jordan has blamed Syria for the abduction. The two countries have had severely strained relations for almost six months and nearly went to war late last year. The Moheisen kidnapping further exacerbated the situation.

Western sources recently told the Monitor in Amman, Jordan, that Jordanian-Syrian relations were probably irreconcilably broken now. In the past two months, both Jordan's King Hussein and Syria's President Hafez al-Assad have personally condemned each other -- considered a drastic me asure in Arab diplomacy.