Thousands of Syrian refugees flood into Lebanon

Thousands of refugees are fleeing border towns in central Syria where a high-stakes battle is raging, crossing valleys and ridges to reach safety in neighboring Lebanon, witnesses and the UN said on Sunday.

They are packing into wedding halls and drifting into makeshift shacks, escaping steadily intensifying fighting that began on Friday, said Bassel Hojeiri, former mayor of the border town of Arsal where most refugees have headed. Dana Sleiman of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees put the total number of refugee arrivals over the weekend at around 1,000 families.(AP)