More Syrians Cross into Northern Lebanon, 1 Dies at Hospital

Hundreds of Syrians, including four wounded people, have crossed into northern Lebanon fleeing violence in the Syrian town of Tall Kalakh, Lebanese security officials said Saturday.

The officials said the wounded who crossed the border into the Wadi Khaled area included a 26-year-old man who suffered a gunshot in his back and two women, also with bullet wounds. The fourth, a 30-year-old man, died of his wounds later at a north Lebanon hospital. The other three were being treated at two hospitals in the area, they said.

Wadi Khaled is in the northern district of Akkar.

The officials said cracks of gunfire in Tall Kalakh could be heard on the Lebanese side of the border. More than 5,000 Syrians have fled the area in the past weeks, with more than 500 people crossing the border on Saturday, the officials said.

A witness said that Syrian troops shot dead three people and wounded several others in Tall Kalakh on Saturday.

The shooting in the town comes as Syrian security forces opened fire on thousands of protesters, killing at least five people, on Friday.

Human rights groups say more than 775 people have been killed since the start of the protest movement in Syria in mid-March.(AP-Naharnet)