Village in Akkar Hit by Shells, Gunfire as Battles Intensify along Border

Clashes intensified on Thursday between the Syrian regime troops and gunmen along the Lebanese-Syrian border with shelling and gunfire targeting Khat al-Petrol village in the Akkar border area of Wadi Khaled.

According to the state-run National News Agency, heavy gunfire and shelling from the Syrian side of the border targeted the northern town as battles flared up along the border.

The NNA reported that mortar shells hit at dawn the banks of Nahr al-Kabir in northern Lebanon.

Ambulances had rushed to Khat al-Patrol town after casualties were reported.

Houses along the border were also damaged during the gunbattles.

The news agency said that the battles are in the cross-border town of Bqayaa.

At least 35 Syrians wounded in the clashes were admitted to a hospital in the nearby town of al-Qobayat for treatment.

President Michel Suleiman contacted several officials to inquire about the aerial shelling and rocket attacks against Lebanese border towns.

"It is not acceptable that Lebanese citizens and regions remain exposed to shelling as a consequence of the Syrian conflict,” Suleiman said.

"We call on these feuding factions to stop transforming Lebanon into a target for their attacks,” he added. “Lebanon can't tolerate this situation any longer.”

Suleiman urged army troops to control the border, noting that it must also be monitored inside Syria.

The shelling came a day after Syrian troops recaptured the town of Al-Hosn close to the border, sparking a new exodus of refugees adding to the thousands who had already sought shelter in mainly Sunni Muslim Wadi Khaled.

Later, the NNA reported that Syrian authorities closed the legal border crossing in Bqayaa, causing traffic to come to a halt in both directions.

Wadi Khaled residents called on the Lebanese army to interfere to stop the Syrian shelling on the area.

The international highway in the Beddawi area was shortly blocked to protest the incident.

NNA later reported that two houses burned in the village of Bani Sakher in Wadi Khaled after coming under Syrian shelling.

An army post near al-Bqayaa border crossing reportedly came under fire from the Syrian side.

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq urged the residents of the areas to reopen the roads to facilitate the transportation of the injured.

For his part, Health Minister Wael Abou Faour ordered the hospitals to receive Lebanese and Syrian people, who were injured in the clashes.

Several border areas in the north and east have been frequently struck by cross-border shelling, while the Syrian regime has told Lebanon to better control its porous border to prevent the smuggling of fighters and arms.