RIYADH: Lebanon’s Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said he has been following the kidnapping of a Saudi citizen in Beirut with internal security forces since Sunday. A Saudi citizen was kidnapped on the road to Beirut airport after midnight on Saturday, Lebanese media reported on Monday. The Saudi citizen works for Saudia, the Kingdom’s flag carrier, and the kidnappers sent a message from the southern suburbs of Beirut demanding a ransom of $400,000, Al-Ekhbariya reported. Mawlawi said he is also in contact with the Kingdom’s ambassador to Lebanon Waleed Bukhari regarding the incident. “With an iron fist, we work to liberate any citizen who is exposed to any harm on Lebanese soil,” Mawlawi tweeted. “What happened affects Lebanon’s relationship with its brothers, and the perpetrators will be punished harshly,” he added. The Saudi embassy said it had received a report from relatives of the citizen who had lost contact with him at dawn on Sunday, adding that it was communicating with Lebanese security authorities at the highest level to uncover circumstances of the disappearance, Al-Ekhbariya also reported.