* Gunmen from Shi'ite clan kidnaps Syrians, Turk and Saudi
* Stokes fears Lebanon could return to past troubles
* Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar warn citizens to leave
BEIRUT, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Lebanese Shi'ite gunmen kidnapped
more than 20 people on Wednesday in retaliation for the capture
of one of their kinsmen in Syria, prompting Sunni Gulf states to
warn their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately.
A Turk, a Saudi and several Syrians were among those
abducted in an area of Lebanon controlled by Hezbollah Shi'ite
militants, raising the risk that the sectarian violence driving
the conflict in Syria will spread to its neighbour, which fought
its own civil war on sectarian lines for 15 years.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar told their
citizens to leave Lebanon after the kidnappings and threats to
seize more citizens of countries that have backed the uprising
against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.
Members of the Meqdad clan, one of Lebanon's powerful
Shi'ite families, said the kidnapping was retaliation for the
capture of kinsman Hassan al-Meqdad by the rebel Free Syrian
Army in Damascus two days ago.
They said their hostages included a Turkish businessman, a
Saudi and several Syrians they described as rebel fighters.
In remarks to Lebanon's National News Agency, Hassan
al-Meqdad's brother Hatem said "the snowball would grow", and
warned "Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey and their citizens".
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are all led by Sunnis and
strongly support the mainly Sunni Muslim rebels fighting Assad.
Air France, meanwhile, had to divert one of its flights to
Lebanon after it was unable to land in Beirut for "security
reasons". The road from the airport into central Beirut has
regularly been blocked by families of Lebanese hostages held in
Syria.
An Air France spokeswoman, correcting earlier reports that
the plane had gone to Amman, said it had been diverted to
Damascus where it had refuelled before flying on to Larnaca in
Cyprus.
The Syrian conflict has polarised Lebanon, with its Sunnis
mainly supporting Syria's rebels, while Shi'ites, including the
powerful militant group Hezbollah, mainly backing Assad, a
member of the Alawite minority sect, an offshoot of Shi'ism.
The appearance of masked gunmen on the streets conducting
mass abductions brings back memories of Lebanon's 1975-1990
civil war, when the country was divided by Sunni, Shi'ite,
Christian and Druze militia. Kidnapping became common during the
conflict, and some of those taken were never found.
Saudi Arabia's official news agency said Riyadh's embassy in
Lebanon had "called on Saudi citizens currently in Lebanon to
leave immediately given the latest developments in Lebanon and
the appearance of some explicit threats to abduct Saudi citizens
and others".
A diplomat said the Turkish businessman had been kidnapped
shortly after arriving in Lebanon on Wednesday.
"He was here for business, arrived today, and was kidnapped
near the airport," the source said, adding that there was little
progress so far in negotiations to secure his release.
The Lebanese news channel Al Jadeed was given access to the
Turkish hostage, who said he had been treated well.
In a video broadcast by Al Mayadeen, a Lebanon-based TV
station, two of the Syrian hostages were shown in the custody of
masked gunmen from the Meqdad clan wearing green fatigues and
armed with automatic rifles.
Clan member Maher al-Meqdad said the detained Syrians
included a lieutenant who had deserted from Assad's army to join
the rebels, while those who were not FSA members had been freed.
One of the detainees, looking tense in a room full of
gunmen, identified himself as a captain by the name of Mohammed,
and said his role was to help supply the FSA. The other man said
he was his assistant.
THREATS
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called the kidnappings
"unacceptable".
"This is not an appropriate way to solve the kidnapping of a
Lebanese citizen in Syria and brings us back to the days of the
painful war, a page that Lebanese citizens have been trying to
turn," he said in a statement.
The rebels in Damascus had accused their captive, Hassan
al-Meqdad, of being sent to Syria by Hezbollah to aid Assad.
Hezbollah has been one of Assad's regional allies for decades.
Maher al-Meqdad said his kinsman had travelled to Syria more
than a year and a half ago, before the outbreak of the uprising,
and had no links to the fighting in Syria.
"We don't care what is happening in Syria. We respect the
will for democracy. We just want our son to come back to Lebanon
safely," Maher al-Meqdad said.
The abductions on Wednesday happened in an area controlled
by Hezbollah, a fact certain to lead to questions over whether
the Shi'ite militant group authorised the clan's operation.
Lebanon's Sunni mufti, Malek Shaar, called for an urgent
meeting on Wednesday night to try to prevent a security
breakdown, Al Mayadeen said.
A group of masked gunmen speaking to journalists in the
Hezbollah-controlled Dahiya neighbourhood, who called themselves
the "military wing" of the Meqdad clan, threatened more action
if their relative was not released.
"We still haven't even done 1 percent, we still haven't
really moved," said a man in a black mask holding a machinegun.
"Anyone from the FSA in Lebanon who tries to violate our
rights over the Hassan Meqdad issue will be held to account by
us, as well as any political group or sect that has joined it."