The International Criminal Court should be called in to probe war crimes in Syria, former U.N. prosecutor Carla del Ponte said Monday.

"The international community -- and the U.N. Security Council -- must take the decision to refer this to justice," del Ponte, the member of a U.N.-mandated commission of inquiry on the Syria conflict, told reporters.

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel warned Hizbullah on Monday of the dangerous aspects of its meddling in the local affairs of several countries.

“Hizbullah is (putting the Lebanese state) in confrontation with the international community, the Arab solidarity and all the other forces,” Gemayel said from Bkirki after talks with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.

The European Union on Monday renewed sanctions against Syria while amending them to enable nations to provide more "non-lethal" and technical support to help protect civilians.

A statement agreed by EU foreign ministers said the bloc's sanctions were renewed for three more months until end-May, while "amending them so as to provide greater non-lethal support and technical assistance for the protection of civilians."

Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali slammed on Monday reports saying that Hizbullah is aiding Syrian forces in the border town of Qusayr.

“The Lebanese residing in Syrian territories are directly concerned with confronting the gunmen who attack them,” Ali told reporters after holding talks with Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour at the Bustros Palace.

The residents of the northern border town of Arida blocked the main crossing that leads to Syria on Monday after Syrian shells from overnight clashes between rebels and government troops reached their town.

The protesters erected a huge tent and blocked the road that connects the northern Lebanese coast with Syria, the state-run National News Agency reported.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry finally talked Sunday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who had been unavailable for days after the North Korean nuclear test, the State Department said.

The two spent about a half an hour on the phone talking about the situation in Syria and the North Korean test, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

Syrian rebels on Sunday captured army checkpoints near Nayrab military airport in the northern city of Aleppo, in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor and in central Hama province, a watchdog said.

In Aleppo, fierce clashes took place between Syrian troops and several rebel battalions, which resulted in the insurgents taking over the checkpoint near Nayrab airport, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

At least 18 ancient mosaics depicting scenes from Homer's "The Odyssey" have been stolen in northern Syria, the culture minister was quoted as saying on Sunday.

"These mosaics were stolen during illegal excavations" on archaeological sites in the war-torn country's northeast, Lubana Mushaweh said in an interview published on Sunday by the government daily Tishreen.

Israel will maintain close tabs on its border with Syria and only let people to cross in "exceptional circumstances," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday after seven injured Syrians were let in.

"We will continue to watch over the border and prevent anyone from crossing it and entering Israel, except in a few isolated and exceptional circumstances -- each of which will be weighed on its own merit," Netanyahu told his outgoing cabinet.

U.N.-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi on Sunday urged international backing for a Syrian opposition offer to begin talks with the regime, which he proposed be held in United Nations offices.

Brahimi said opposition leader Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib's offer to negotiate with some regime figures "opened the door and challenged the Syrian regime to confirm what it constantly says about being prepared to hold dialogue."