Syrian troops recapture border town

BEIRUT -- After hours of heavy shelling, Syrian troops recaptured a border town yesterday in what activists said was a government attempt to stem the flood of people fleeing their country's civil war.

Rebels had been in control of Tel Chehab, along the Jordanian border, for months despite repeated assaults by pro-government troops, local activist Mohammed Abu Houran said.

In the latest clashes, hundreds of Syrian soldiers backed by 20 tanks assaulted Tel Chehab, according to Abu Houran and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Rebels fought back but were pushed out, activists said.

A Jordanian army officer living just across the border said by telephone that he had heard heavy shelling starting early in the morning, but that it had subsided by midday.

"It sounded like the shelling came from tanks and armored vehicles," said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because army regulations forbid him from being identified in press accounts.

The activists did not have casualty figures. Abu Houran said at least 2,000 refugees were waiting in the town for the chance to cross the border.

Syria's state-run news agency, SANA, said troops arrested "several terrorists" in Tel Chehab and confiscated large amounts of explosives, including C4. Other explosives were also dismantled, it reported, without giving further details.

An amateur video posted online by activists showed tanks and trucks full of soldiers passing through the town of Yadouda on their way to nearby Tel Chehab. The authenticity of the video could not be independently confirmed.

The Observatory, which has a network of activists throughout Syria, said troops raided homes in Tel Chehab and detained people.

Abu Houran said the regime apparently was trying to cut the route for refugees who have been fleeing the civil war in increasing numbers. More than 100,000 Syrians left in August alone, the highest monthly total in the past 18 months, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said.

More than 160,000 Syrian refugees now live in Jordan, a number is increasing by the day.