"Civilians have gotten caught up in a chilling kidnapping racket in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. As the uprising against President Bashar Assad becomes increasingly sectarian, Sunnis and Shiites here are rushing to collect hostages as bargaining chips.
Sunnis blame Shiites for supporting the brutal Shiite-allied regime, and Shiites fear what could happen to them if the uprising succeeds. The killings and distrust have shattered decades of peaceful coexistence, raising the specter of the type of sectarian war in neighboring Iraq that has long terrified many Syrians.
Days before, a Shiite shepherd from the nearby village of Fuaa had been kidnapped, along with his flock. (Those hearing the news all asked the same question, as dark humor takes hold here: Were the sheep Shiite or Sunni?)
"When the shepherd was taken, he wasn't taken because he did anything wrong; he was taken as a matter of numbers because of the people they had from us," Mustafa said. "This isn't in our nature, but we were forced to do it to gather a number that we can negotiate with."
The cycle of tit-for-tat sectarian kidnappings has taken root as the uprising enters its second year."
