Lebanese official condemns Syria over fishing boat attack

Syrian navy gunboat fired at a Lebanese fishing vessel off coast of Arida on Friday Beirut - George Al Shami Lebanon's Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour has hit out at the Syrian government after a Syrian navy gunboat fired at a Lebanese fishing vessel off the northern coast of Arida on Friday. According to reports, the Syrian gunboat entered Lebanese territorial waters at dawn, and opened heavy machine-gun fire against the Lebanese fishing boat, wounding fisherman Khaled Ahmad al-Ali. Such incidents have become common place since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011. However, following widespread clashes between pro-Syrian regime Alawite militias and pro-Syrian opposition Sunni groups last week in the Lebanese city of Tripoli, the country's government is under pressure to take a tougher stance against the spillover from the escalating Syrian conflict. As a result, Mansour has contacted the Syrian Ambassador to Beirut, Ali Abdel-Kareem, to express anger at Friday's incident and to address the growing problem of Syrian armed forces and rebels fighting within Lebanese territories. Meanwhile, a press statement by the Russian embassy has revealed that a senior Lebanese diplomat is meeting with the Russian Ambassador to Beirut, Alexander Zaspkin, on Saturday to discuss developments in the Syrian crisis. According to the statement, Zaspkin will relay a message from Russia's Foreign Minister Sergie Lavarov, who condemned the outcome of the recent Arab summit held in Qatar last week, after the Arab League officially recognised the Syrian opposition as the country's leading party. The embassy pointed out that such a move "contradicts efforts to suspend war in Syria." "The Russian government will continue efforts to conduct a dialogue between the Syrian regime and the opposition during the coming period to pave the way for the Syrian people to choose their own leaders," said Zaspkin. Zaspkin also spoke about the spillover of the Syrian conflict into Lebanese border towns. "Achieving understanding between the two countries about the peaceful settlement of the current crisis is key. Russia urges both countries to prevent the negative repercussions of the conflict from destabilising the region as a whole and to avoid any effects on Lebanon," he said. The ambassador also pledged Russia's support for the UN, which is currently conducting an investigation into the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian opposition against regime forces. This follows an incident on March 16 where an alleged poison gas attack on the town of Khan al-Assal, near Aleppo, killed a reported 33 people. Since the incident, both sides of the conflict have continued to trade blame, prompting the UN to investigate further. Russia is backing the Syrian government, saying it believes the opposition are responsible for the attack, while the US and other NATO countries believe the Syrian regime, lead by President Bashar al-Assad, is to blame.