The kidnapping of 13 Lebanese Shia pilgrims in Syria has sparked angry protests in Beirut, adding to fears that Lebanon is being dragged into the unrest afflicting its neighbour.

The pilgrims were returning through Syria after touring Iranian holy sites.

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, head of the Shia militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, appealed for calm after tyres were burned and roads blocked.

Tom Esslemont reports.