BEIRUT: A Syrian probe into last week’s shooting on three Lebanese fishermen in the north claimed that the fishermen had been in Syrian territorial waters, a conclusion which was in sharp contrast with Lebanese security sources who maintained that the men had been in Lebanese territorial waters.

The head of the Higher Lebanese-Syrian Council, Nasri Khoury, briefed Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Lebanese officials Friday on the results of the probe.

The attack on the three fishermen led to the death of a teenager off the coast of the border town of Arida in the north.“I briefed the prime minister on the efforts made by the general secretariat to resolve the problem of the fishermen and deal with the repercussions of last week’s incident,” Khoury told reporters after meeting Mikati at the Grand Serail.

He said he also briefed Mikati on the investigation carried out by Syria into the shooting incident, stressing the need to follow up the issue in order to avoid a recurrence of such incidents in the future.

Khoury also underlined the need for the two neighboring countries to cooperate and control their common borders, particularly regarding areas that straddle the border. He said Mikati had been responsive toward this need.

“I proposed to the prime minister some points related to the Lebanese-Syrian cooperation and some matters that need to be tackled by the Lebanese and Syrian sides, particularly with regard to controlling the border and all official border crossings and in common border areas,” Khoury said.

Asked about the results of the Syrian investigation into the Arida incident, Khoury said: “The Syrian side has conducted a thorough investigation. I think the Lebanese Army is aware of all information related to the investigation. If the Lebanese side wanted to get a full copy of the investigation, the Syrian side is ready to provide it so that [the Lebanese side] can pursue all these issues.”

Three fishermen, identified as Fadi Hamad, 37, his brother Khaled Hamad, 33, and their nephew Maher Hamad, 17, were kidnapped by Syrian security forces on Jan. 21 after a Syrian naval vessel crossed 3 kilometers into Lebanon’s territorial waters.

Maher was shot in the stomach and killed when Syrian forces fired in the direction of the trawler, Arida residents said. His uncles were arrested and taken to Syria, where they claimed they were beaten.

The Lebanese Army so far has not released a statement about the incident.

Syria’s official news agency SANA said the Syrian coast guard in Tartous intercepted “a Lebanese smuggling boat trying to infiltrate Syrian territorial waters from north Lebanon.”

It accused the crewmen of trying to escape, while “five Lebanese boats in Lebanese territorial waters opened fire on the boat, which resulted in the wounding of two of its members.”

Lebanese security sources, however, said that the Syrian naval vessel crossed 3 kilometers into Lebanon’s territorial waters.

Arida residents also maintained that the men had been within Lebanon’s maritime border when Syrian forces began shooting in their direction.

Khoury’s talks with Mikati came a day after he met with President Michel Sleiman for the same purpose.

“Khoury briefed the president on the progress [in the Syrian investigation] into the Arida incident,” a political source told The Daily Star. “The talks also covered agreements signed between the two countries.”

Commenting on the Sleiman-Khoury meeting, political sources said that the Lebanese side would have preferred that Damascus had not issued its statement which accused the fishermen of entering Syrian territorial waters ahead of the results of the investigation being conducted by Lebanese authorities on the incident.

The sources expressed astonishment over the blatant contradiction between the reports submitted by the Lebanese security forces and those presented by Syrian security forces. They pointed out that except for proven cases of smuggling operations, firing on the border was not permissible and that the killing of innocent Lebanese or Syrians is not permitted by international law or the treaties signed by the Lebanese and Syrian sides.

The Arida incident has sparked calls from the Future Movement and its March 14 allies for the deployment of the Lebanese Army on the frontier with Syria to protect Lebanese citizens living in border towns.

The Lebanese-Syrian border has become increasingly tense since the popular upheaval in Syria began in March last year, with several incursions by the Syrian army, the killing of Lebanese citizens by Syrian security forces, and the firing at two fishing boats in August. Syrian officials have accused Lebanese factions of smuggling weapons to Syrian protesters demanding the ouster of President Bashar Assad.

Meanwhile, MPs from the parliamentary Future bloc of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri expressed regret over the government’s failure to issue an official statement or a condemnation of the Arida incident.

Akkar MP Mouin Merehbi told Al-Fajr radio station that the government should shoulder its responsibility in “protecting citizens and deploy the army and security forces on the Lebanese-Syrian border.”

“Is it required that the people be armed like a militia to protect themselves from [Syrian] attacks?” he asked.

MP Khaled Zahraman told the Voice of Lebanon radio station: “It is normal for the Syrian regime to accuse the Lebanese fishermen that they entered the Syrian territorial waters in order to fire on them.” Zahraman lamented the absence of “any reaction from the Lebanese side to the Syrian regime’s actions in Lebanon.”

“The Lebanese feel in those [border] areas that they are deserted,” he said.

The Democratic Renewal Movement, which is allied with the opposition March 14 coalition, called on the Lebanese government to reject the Syrian report which blamed the Lebanese fishermen for the Arida incident.

“The Syrian report constitutes a disdain of the blood of the Lebanese and the dignity of the Lebanese people and institutions,” the movement’s secretary Antoine Haddad said in a statement.

He added that the Lebanese authorities must insist on “a correct report away from fabrication that reflects the truth of the criminal attack to which those citizens were subjected.” – With additional reporting by Antoine Ghattas Saab