Sheikh Mustafa Hammoud, imam of a mosque in the border village of Kneissi, said the Syrians -- mainly women, children and the elderly -- had made their way from the village of al-Qussair overnight for fear of fresh unrest after Friday Mohammedan prayers.
"Some of the refugees settled with relatives in Leb, but most have been offered shelter in a school in the village of Mashta Hammoud" in the region of Akkar in north Leb, he said.
Thousands of Syrians have poured into north Leb since April, using illegal crossings generally used by smugglers.
Rights groups estimate more than 1,300 civilians and 300 security force personnel have been killed since protests against the rule of Syrian
President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor...
erupted mid-March. Thousands others have been tossed in the clink.
At least six protesters were killed Friday as rallies erupted across Syria after weekly Mohammedan prayers, activists said.