Syria Releases Seized Lebanese Fishing Boat

Syrian authorities on Tuesday released a Lebanese fishing boat the Syrian navy had seized on Saturday after an incident in which a 14-year-old Lebanese boy was killed and two sailors were arrested.

A Syrian fishing boat, escorted by Syrian coastguards, towed the Lebanese boat suffering an engine failure to the sea off the coast of the northern Lebanese town of al-Arida, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.

A Lebanese fishing boat then towed the vessel to the fishermen harbor on Lebanon’s Grand River, NNA added.

On Sunday, Syria returned the body of the slain boy and freed his two uncles, who said they came under fire in their fishing boat along the sea border with Syria.

Fadi Hamad, who was handed over to Lebanese authorities with his brother Khaled and the body of their nephew, Maher, recounted what he said was the boy's fatal shooting at the hands of Syrian troops.

"We had cast our nets the night before and early Saturday morning we headed out to pull them in," Hamad, 36, told Agence France Presse.

"We then saw a boat pulling up to us and urged it to move back as they were nearing our net," he added.

"They disappeared briefly and then came back, and when they were near enough I could see about six armed men in the boat. Four of them climbed into our boat. We were terrified. They opened fire and both Maher and my brother were injured."

The gunmen then forced the three fishermen into Syria, where Maher died of his wounds, he said.

Hamad said he was taken to a military intelligence center in the Syrian coastal town of Tartous where he was beaten and interrogated on whether he was an arms smuggler.

"I was asked repeatedly whether the arms were coming from (former premier) Saad Hariri," he said.

"I told them I was a fisherman ... but they kept hitting me, and my hands were tied. About an hour later, I was told there had been a mistake and (Syrian) President (Bashar) Assad wanted to forgive me. I was also informed my nephew was dead."

Khaled Hamad, 35, was treated for gunshot wounds to the leg.

Syria's state-run news agency SANA reported at the time that a patrol had caught three Lebanese who were attempting to enter Syrian waters for "smuggling activities."

SANA said port officials off Tartous warned the Lebanese to obey orders but the fishermen instead "threw their boxes in the sea in an attempt to escape."

The boat then came under fire from "another Lebanese boat coming from Lebanese waters," leaving one person injured and another dead, according to SANA.

President Michel Suleiman has condemned the incident, which sparked protests in al-Arida that saw angry villagers on Saturday burn tires some 200 meters from the border, briefly closing down the crossing.

Protesters also set up a tent near the border where several gathered on Sunday to protest the incident.

Faced with an anti-regime uprising, the Syrian army in November laced the Lebanese border with landmines in a bid to curb arms smuggling and to hamper army defectors and refugees from fleeing.

Syrian troops have also staged deadly incursions into border villages in Lebanon.