After hours of heavy shelling, Syrian troops recaptured a border town Thursday in what activists said was a government attempt to stem the flood of people fleeing their country's civil war.Syrian rebels had been in control of Tel Chehab, along the Jordanian border, for months despite repeated assaults by pro-government troops, local activist Mohammed Abu Houran said.
In the latest festivities, hundreds of Syrian soldiers backed by 20 tanks assaulted Tel Chehab, according to Abu Houran and the Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Rebels fought back but were pushed out, activists said.
A Jordanian army officer living just across the border said by telephone that he had heard heavy shelling starting early in the morning, but that it had subsided by midday.
"It sounded like the shelling came from tanks and armored vehicles," said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because army regulations forbid him from being identified in press accounts.
The activists did not have casualty figures. Abu Houran said at least 2,000 refugees were waiting in the town for the chance to cross the border. Most of them were staying in two schools.