By Antoine Amrieh
 

BQAYAA, Lebanon: A large number of women and children fleeing the Syrian town of Tall Kalakh crossed into Lebanon Thursday, the head of Mqaybleh Municipality Ali Said told The Daily Star.
“Residents of Tall Kalakh fled their town and will stay with their friends or family living in Lebanon,” Said said, adding that the families had crossed the border on foot.
One witness told The Daily Star that around 700 people had crossed into Lebanon as the border crossing of the north Akkar town of Bqayaa witnessed higher-than-normal levels of traffic Thursday. Activity at the crossing increased following an announcement by Syrian authorities that they would blockade Tall Kalakh, a town located near the Lebanese border.
Meanwhile, the remaining border crossings near the towns of Abboudieh and Arida saw normal levels of traffic.
At the Bqayaa border crossing, The Daily Star’s correspondent witnessed only a few cars crossing into Lebanon. Several cars entering carried Syrian workers, some of whom brought mattresses, suitcases and covers.
Earlier Thursday, Lebanese troops and members of the Internal Security Forces carried out joint patrols along the porous Lebanese-Syrian border after gunshots were heard overnight on the Syrian side of the border, a security source told The Daily Star online.
The source said that the military measure had taken place along the 50-kilometer border strip between Wadi Khaled and Arida in north Lebanon after gunshots were heard on the Syrian side of Al-Kabir River, a narrow waterway flanked by dense thickets of trees and lush green pastures.

The patrols were dispatched from the 3,000-strong brigade already deployed along the northern border with Syria, the source added. Policemen were also sent out from police stations positioned in the area.
Al-Kabir River flows through the southern coastal plain and, on its lower stretch, forms the border between Syria and Lebanon.

AFP reported that those fleeing said the road leading to it had been blocked with stones and tires, thus preventing cars from reaching the border. – Additional reporting by Dana Khraiche