Northern Lebanon effected by Syrian fire

Northern Lebanese towns witnessed open fire from the Syrian side late Monday, no casualties were reported. A shell exploded in Al-Areeda boarder town on the Lebanese bank Al-Kabir River, in addition to opening of machine guns which caused panic among citizens who sought shelter, security reports indicated. A number of shells launched from the Syrian side on Sunday night, exploded in a number of border towns of northern Lebanon, it added. The shelling incidents from the Syrian side towards Lebanese northern towns have been increasing since the outburst of armed clashes in Syria, which resulted in the death of two Lebanese citizens, and causing damage to many properties. Residents of Al-Areeda town blocked the international road leading to the main border crossing with Syrian in the region in protest against the recurrence of such incidents. They called on the Lebanese President Michel Suleiman to deploy the army on boarders with Syria.