Al-Jadeed blamed the Syrian army for
the death of cameraman Ali Shaaban, the latest in a series of incidents along
the increasingly tense Lebanese-Syrian frontier which has seen Syrian troops
crossing the border in pursuit of rebel soldiers since the popular uprising
began in Lebanon’s neighbor in March last year.
Border incursions by the Syrian army
have led to the killing and wounding of several Lebanese citizens in recent
months, prompting March 14 calls for the deployment of the Lebanese Army on the
border to protect Lebanese citizens.
Al-Jadeed’s owner Tahseen Khayyat
told his TV station that the Syrian attack on the crew had been intentional.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
deplored the cross-border shootings from Syria
into Lebanon ahead of a
cease-fire deadline in the yearlong conflict that has pushed Syria
Al-Jadeed accused the Syrian army of
killing Shaaban, 30, saying it opened fire at the three-member crew’s vehicle
which was on Lebanon
“Ali Shaaban became a martyr after
the Syrian army opened fire on Al-Jadeed’s car” in the Wadi Khaled area, the
station said in its prime news bulletin Monday night. It said that the
station’s vehicle was raked with about 40 bullets and that a bullet that
directly hit Shaaban’s heart caused his death.
Hussein Khreiss, the station’s
reporter who was with Shaaban, said that the crew had come under heavy gunfire
from the Syrian side as they were reporting from inside Lebanon
Khreiss and another cameraman,
Abdul-Azim Khayyat, survived after jumping into a field when their car came
under fire, but Shaaban was not able to crawl away because he had been hit,
Khreiss said. “We were in Lebanese territory. We saluted the Syrian border
guards who shouted at us to go back. We came under heavy fire for two hours
from the Syrian side, from the regular Syrian army. Gunshots fell like rain,”
said a sobbing Khreiss, speaking in front of Al-Salam
Hospital in the northern town of Qobeiyat Rafik Hariri
Hospital in Beirut village
of Mayfadoun
Lebanese leaders on both sides of
the political fence condemned the incident, with politicians in the opposition
March 14 coalition calling for government action to control the border with Syria
President Michel Sleiman called on
“the Syrian side to conduct the necessary investigations to pinpoint
responsibilities and prevent a recurrence of such attacks in the future,”
according to a statement released by the president’s office.
Sleiman telephoned Tahseen Khayyat
to offer condolences. He also contacted Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi, the
secretary-general of the Higher Lebanese-Syrian Council Nasri Khoury, and
Lebanon’s Ambassador to Syria Michel Khoury, demanding the “circumstances of
the incident be clarified and investigations pursued in order for judicial
measures to take their course according to laws in force.”
Prime Minister Najib Mikati, whose
Twitter account was flooded with messages from people asking the government for
immediate action, said he would ask the Syrian government to investigate the
shooting and hold the culprits accountable.
“We will inform the Syrian side of
our condemnation of this act which we reject and our demand that the attack be
investigated and that the perpetrators be held accountable,” Mikati said in a
statement released by his office.
“We deplore and condemn the shooting
from the Syrian side on the Lebanese media crew, particularly that this crew
was doing its duty inside the Lebanese border area. I have asked the Lebanese
Army Command to open an urgent investigation into the incident,” added Mikati,
who is abroad on vacation. The prime minister offered his condolences to
Al-Jadeed staff and to Khayyat.
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri
described Shaaban’s killing as “an attack on Lebanese sovereignty” and held the
Lebanese government responsible it.
“Hariri ... held the Lebanese
government responsible for what happened because it has been turning a blind
eye to the series of attacks and violations carried out by Syrian forces on
Lebanese territories for months now,” said a statement released by Hariri’s
office.
As The Daily Star went to press,
there was as yet no statement from the Lebanese Army on Shaaban’s killing.
Meanwhile, Syria
“What happened today is that a
Syrian border guard post in the mentioned area came, during the presence of
Al-Jadeed crew in the area, under heavy gunfire by armed terrorist groups as
they do daily in an attempt to infiltrate into Syrian territory to carry out
terrorist attacks. The border guards responded to the sources of gunfire,” SANA
Speaker Nabih Berri called Ali
Shaaban, the victim’s father, to offer condolences. He also telephoned the
Al-Jadeed administration for the same purpose. Ministers and lawmakers from
Hezbollah and the Amal Movement visited the house of Shaaban’s parents to offer
condolences.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel
said a probe into the attack had been launched in order to uncover the
circumstances behind Shaaban’s killing.
“An investigation is under way by
security forces and the testimonies of the two journalists who were with
[Shaaban] were taken,” Charbel told The Daily Star.
Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, head of the
parliamentary Future bloc, condemned Shaaban’s killing, saying Syrian soldiers
deliberately opened fire with the aim of killing.
By Hussein Dakroub
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