LEBANON: A funeral is held in the northern Lebanese town of Arida for a boatman relatives say was killed by Syrian forces

Record ID: 280485

  • Title: LEBANON: A funeral is held in the northern Lebanese town of Arida for a boatman relatives say was killed by Syrian forces
  • Date: 23rd January 2012
  • Summary: ARIDA, LEBANON (JANUARY 22, 2012) (REUTERS) MOURNERS OUTSIDE HOME OF LEBANESE MAN KILLED OFF SYRIAN COAST, MAHER HAMAD VARIOUS OF MOURNERS OUTSIDE HAMAD'S HOME VARIOUS OF HAMAD'S UNCLE, FADI, SHOWING WOUNDS FROM 'TORTURE' FADI HAMAD PUTTING ON CLOTHES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LEBANESE FISHERMAN FADI HAMAD, SAYING: "They accused me of hiding arms in the boat during the i
  • Embargoed: 7th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Lebanon, Lebanon
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA1FA2TFGVJF2CDF3EMR3CO156S
  • Story Text: Residents in a northern Lebanese town reacted angrily on Sunday (January 22) to reports a local fisherman was killed by Syrian forces off the Lebanon-Syria coast.
    Dozens of mourners gathered for the funeral of Maher Hamad in Arida on Sunday, he had been out at sea with his two uncles when he was killed.
    Syrian state news agency SANA said the men were smugglers, that a Syrian naval patrol had tried to stop the boat but was fired on by other Lebanese vessels. The agency said two men on the boat were wounded by friendly fire.
    Maher's uncle, Fadi Hamad, said Maher was killed and his brother wounded when Syrian forces fired on the boat.
    He said he had been released after being tortured and forced to confess to smuggling, he showed marks on his back as evidence of torture.
    "They accused me of hiding arms in the boat during the interrogation and they beat me," he said.
    Arida has an official border crossing with Syria, where crowds gathered to voice their anger, shouting slogans condemning Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his father Hafez.
    The Syrian authorities have in the past complained that bordering nations have not clamped down on the smuggling of weapons destined for insurgents.
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