Hundreds of Syrians flee to Lebanon: officials

More than 1,500 Syrians, mainly women and children, have crossed into Lebanon in recent days, fleeing the violence in the central flashpoint province of Homs, UN and local officials said Tuesday.
Dana Sleiman, of the United Nations refugee agency, told AFP that 170 families had sought refuge in the border Lebanese village of El Fakha, located in the eastern Bekaa region, and 50 others were in the nearby town of Aarsal.
“We are trying to verify whether there are additional people in other areas and how many have returned to Syria,” Sleiman said.
She said the UNHCR, in cooperation with local non-governmental organisations, was sending food, blankets and other aid to the refugees.
Sleiman said each family accounted for six or seven members.
Ahmad Moussa, a spokesman for the Committee of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, said some 65 families had arrived in northern Lebanon on Monday, some of them having moved on from the Bekaa region.
He said the majority were from the town of Homs, which has been the focus of a fierce assault by Syrian regime forces, and nearby Qusayr.
There have been conflicting reports on the number of refugees crossing into Lebanon in recent days. Officials on Monday said most of some 2,000 Syrians who had fled the violence in Homs province at the weekend had returned home after the fighting eased.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 7,058 Syrians have registered in Lebanon as refugees but that number is expected to rise with the new influx of arrivals.