New wave of refugees pours into Lebanon

July 21, 2012 at 4:06AM

BEIRUT, LEBANON -- Escalating violence in Syria has prompted a new surge of refugees fleeing the strife-torn nation, with as many as 30,000 people escaping to neighboring Lebanon in the last 48 hours, the United Nations said Friday.

"With the spread of deadly violence, I am gravely concerned for the thousands of Syrian civilians and refugees who have been forced to flee their homes," Antonio Guterres, U.N. high commissioner for refugees, said.

The unrest in Syria has sent more than 200,000 people into exile -- mostly to neighboring Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, according to U.N. figures and other estimates.s.

The refugee agency said it was verifying the latest numbers and assessing the need of newly arrived Syrians, some of whom crossed "with only the clothes on their backs," Guterres said.

The new wave of refugees appears to have begun after Wednesday's reported bombing of a security compound in the Syrian capital. The brazen attack caused the deaths of four top government security officials.

On Thursday, Syrian rebels seized several border crossings along the Turkish and Iraqi frontiers.

Reports Friday from the major commercial border crossing at Bab al-Hawa along the Turkish-Syrian frontier indicated that the Syrian frontier post remained in opposition hands. Rebels defaced official photos of President Bashar Assad and burned Syrian flags, according to amateur video.

Bab al-Hawa is along the main international highway from Turkey to Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub. Traffic at the once-bustling crossing had been reduced to a trickle because of the violence.

But Syrian crossings into Lebanon and Jordan appeared to remain in government hands.

LOS ANGELES TIMES

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