Syrian army kills man in Labanon, kidnaps another

Oct 19, 2011, 6:44 GMT

Beirut - A Syrian army unit crossed into eastern Lebanon, killed a Syrian man and kidnapped his brother, a Lebanese security source said Wednesday.

The incident took place overnight in the area of Al Qaa, in the Eastern Bekaa Valley adjacent to the Syrian border, the source said.

'The unit entered 1.5 kilometres deep inside Lebanese territories and killed Ahmed Adel Abu Jabal and arrested his brother Ammar,' the source said.

Locals said the Syrian army unit had been chasing a group of activists and army defectors near the Lebanese border.

A Lebanese border guard said the unit had 'unintentionally' entered Lebanese territory, and blamed the incident on the unmarked border between the two countries in that area.

Syrian troops in recent weeks have made several incursions into Lebanon, especially in the north.

Some 5,000 Syrians have sought refuge in the area to escape a brutal crackdown by Syrian security forces on pro-democracy protests which began in March.

In Syria, at least 13 people have been killed since Tuesday in what pro-democracy activists described 'as a fierce military operation against pro-democracy protesters and army defectors.'

'The Syrian military operations are now focusing on chasing the activists and defectors in areas at the outskirts of Damascus and near the eastern and northern Lebanese border,' one activist said.

More than 100 were arrested in Tuesday's operation, the activist added.

A Syrian rights group called 'The Syrian League for the Defense of Human Rights' called Tuesday for President Bashar al-Assad to be tried for 'crimes against humanity.'

The statement, quoted by the Lebanese daily An Nahar, said 3,482 people, including 212 children and 99 women, have been killed since mid-March and 4,232 wounded, adding that more than 191 deaths 'were the result of torture in detention centers.'

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said last week that more than 3,000 people, including 187 children, had been killed in the regime's crackdown.

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