Lebanese fishing boat captured at Syrian border

A Lebanese fisherman was killed and another wounded on Saturday after Syrian forces captured their boat off the Lebanese-Syrian coast.

In the northern coastal town of Arida, residents said they heard gunfire break out. Soon after, they witnessed a boat being tugged towards the Syrian port of Tartous.

“They are my brothers, they went out in the morning to pick up the nets and then they came at them with a boat, a regular boat. They killed one of them and they took the two others,” said a family member who claims she was a sister of two of the fishermen.

Lebanese security officials confirmed the capture of the boat and its three fishermen, two brothers and their nephew, Maher Hamad, but didn’t reveal further details.

In retaliation, the angry residents of Arida attempted to block the highway between the two countries and smashed the windows of a Syrian truck in the process.

The border area is notorious for arms smuggling. Since the uprising against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Syrian security have boosted their clampdown on smuggling. Lebanese president Michel Sleiman demanded both countries coordinate to prevent repeated incidents.

Speaker:

Family member of fishermen