By Aya Nader
One Egyptian fisherman is dead, one is injured and 65 are in detention after a Saudi Arabian border guard Saturday fired shots at two Egyptian fishing boats that entered territorial waters without permits.
The Jazan border guard fired warning shots toward the boats after they refused to stop, Saudi authorities told state-owned Al-Ahram.
Egyptian fishermen are frequently found fishing illegally in territorial waters. The Egyptian Consulate-General in Saudi Arabia reported 205 violations in the past two years.
One of the captains of the two boats had been caught fishing illegally in the area a couple of years ago and had taken a pledge not to return, Al-Ahram reported.
The Egyptian consulate and embassy contacted the Saudi authorities to make sure they provide care for the detained fisherman, monitor the health of the injured and ship the body of the deceased back to Egypt, said Ambassador Ali Al-Asheeri, assistant foreign minister for consular affairs and Egyptians abroad, in a Sunday statement.
In September 2012, the ministry issued a warning to Egyptian fishermen not to stray outside of Egyptian territory after the Tunisian coast guard shot and killed two fishermen.
