Deadly Syrian shells in Lebanon

Residents of the Wadi Khaled region said that mortar bombs had begun falling on farm buildings 5 to 20 kilometers (3 to 12 miles) from the border with Syria at about 2 a.m. on Saturday.

By midday, villagers said there had been more explosions and gunfire near the frontier.

Lebanese police said shells fired by Syrian forces had killed two women and wounded several other people, including children.

The Reuters news agency reported that a man had also been killed in the bombardment.

Syrian rebels fighting against the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have used northern Lebanon as a retreat, and it is not the first time that shells have been fired there.

Meanwhile, within Syria, activists reported fierce offensives by the government to recapture rebel areas outside of the northern city of Aleppo and near to Damascus.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the shelling of villages in Aleppo province had been the most violent since a recent offensive had been launched.

Focus on political resolution

The United Nations may be set to reduce the number of personnel deployed in Syria due to the escalating violence in the country.

In a report to the UN Security Council, which was obtained by several news agencies, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the nature of the mission should also be changed, with around 100 civilian personnel replacing the approximately 300 observers currently in Syria.

He said the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) should shift from military observers monitoring a cease-fire that has never been fully implemented to civilian staff focusing their efforts on the search for a political resolution to the conflict.

rc/slk (AP, AFP, dpa)