Lebanon skier hit by gunfire from Syria: official
RASHAYA, Lebanon - Agence France-Presse
Lebanese skier Antoine al-Hajj, who is shot in his shoulder, is treated by medics at a hospital in Rashaya village in the Bekaa valley. REUTERS photo
One person was wounded when a group of skiers on Mount Hermon in southeast Lebanon came under machinegun fire from across the border with Syria today, a security official said.It was the first cross-border shooting in that part of Lebanon, although Syrian regime forces have opened fire several times in recent months, on one occasion killing a Lebanese television cameraman.
In today's incident, four of the skiers were Lebanese and one was Swiss, the security official told AFP.
"They were shot at using light machineguns from across the Syrian side of the border," he said.
One of the Lebanese was hit and taken to hospital for treatment. The army was questioning the rest of the group about the shooting, the source added.
In previous such shootings, Syrian forces have said they were targeting armed rebels and people crossing illegally into the strife-torn country.
On April 9, Al-Jadeed satellite television channel said Syrian soldiers shot dead cameraman Ali Shaaban, saying they opened fire on the TV crew which was on Lebanon's side of the border.
Mount Hermon on the Lebanese-Syrian frontier also borders the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
