3 Syrian Children Die in Tent Fire in Akkar

Three Syrian refugee children burned to death in a fire that destroyed their makeshift wooden hut in the northern region of Akkar on Thursday, a security services official told AFP.

The three children, two sisters and their cousin, were living in the hut built a year ago on the roof of a building in the town of Bhannine.

"The parents had gone out to work and buy things and the children were alone," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"There was a gas leak and the flames devoured the hut," he added.

"The little bodies were charred and there was nothing of the place left."

The eldest of the children was just two-and-a-half years old, the source said, but he had no details on the age of the others.

Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) identified the victims as Rawaa, Sabah, and Talal Suleiman.

They have since been taken to al-Khair hospital in al-Minieh and an investigation has been launched in the incident.

More than 1.1 million Syrians have fled their country's conflict to take refugee in Lebanon, which has struggled to deal with the influx.

Many of the refugees live in dire conditions, in makeshift tents and huts and unfinished buildings.

M.T.

H.K.