Syrians flee to Lebanon to escape violence

As many as 500 Syrians fled to Lebanon to escape the violence in their country on Saturday.

A government-led crackdown on pro-democracy protests has left more than an estimated 850 people dead over the past two months.

It is believed as many as 5,000 have made the same journey since the start of the unrest.

The Syrian government said on Friday that it would start pulling troops and tanks out of towns and cities across the country.

It said it had completed its withdrawal from Deraa, where the protests began, and offered a national dialogue with the demonstrators.

But the AFP news agency reported that Syrian soldiers killed at least four people and wounded several others on Saturday in the western border town of Tall Kalakh

Yesterday, six people were shot by the security forces, despite orders from President Bashar al-Assad not to open fire on protesters.

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