Assad regime shells refugees on Lebanese border

Some 40 Syrian refugees were wounded by the Al-Assad regime as they fled Homs and headed towards Lebanon yesterday.

The shelling came a day after Syrian troops recaptured the town of Al-Hosn close to the border, sparking a new exodus of refugees who are adding to the thousands who have already sought shelter mainly in Wadi Khalid, Akkar District in northern Lebanon.

According to a medical source in the Lebanese Red Cross, over 40 people were injured and have been transferred from inside the Syrian territory into the Wadi Khaled district.

Since the early morning hours, the Lebanese-Syrian border witnessed tensions after a large number of Al-Hosn residents tried to cross into Lebanon to escape the fierce battles between the regime forces and opposition.

Border security sources said over 30 were wounded in the clashes and were transported across the border for treatment in hospitals in Wadi Khaled in Akkar in north Lebanon.

The sources also added that the towns in Wadi Khaled, Al-Qabiah and Bani Sakhr were under Syrian shelling which severely damaged homes, driving the people to escape to safe places, but many were unable to flee their homes due to the intense shelling.

The shelling operations were carried out after the Syrian regime tried to tighten the siege on Al-Hosn after it took control of the town of Al-Zara in Homs.