UN considering cut in monitors BEIRUT — Syria's conflict Saturday spilled further into Lebanon when mortar fire from government forces crashed into villages in the north, killing two women and a man after rebels crossed the border for refuge, residents said. In contrast with Turkey, which openly harbors rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, Lebanon was not expected to respond militarily and has played down the effect of regular clashes along the frontier. But rebels have used north Lebanon as a base and Assad's forces have at times bombed villages and even crossed the border in pursuit of militants, threatening to inflame tensions in Lebanon given a long history of Syrian domination there. Residents of Lebanon's Wadi Khaled region said several mortar bombs hit farm buildings five to 20 km from the border. At midday more explosions and gunfire was heard close to the border. In the village of Al-Mahatta, a house was destroyed, killing a 16-year-old girl and wounding a two-year old and a four-year old, family members said. A 25-year-old woman and a man were killed in nearby villages, residents said. In Syria, the army again bombarded towns across northern Aleppo province in a concerted effort to root out insurgents who have taken control of some areas, the anti-government Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Meanwhile, UN leader Ban Ki-moon urged the UN Security Council to reduce the number of unarmed military observers in Syria and put more stress on political efforts to end the conflict. Ban recommended in a report that the mission in Syria with a “reduced military observer component" be redeployed to the capital Damascus, from regional cities where the conflict has grown in recent weeks. The divided Security Council must make a decision on the future of the 300 unarmed military observers and more than 120 civilian staff in Syria by July 20. On the diplomatic front, China joined Russia in rejecting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's accusation that Beijing and Moscow have hindered efforts to bring about a peaceful resolution of the crisis in Syria. Any attempt to “slander" China was doomed to fail, it said. Clinton had urged Assad's international opponents meeting in Paris on Friday to make Russia and China “pay a price" for helping the regime in Damascus. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said Clinton's comments were “totally unacceptable". — Agencies
