Syrian troops have blockaded a border town to keep their citizens from fleeing into Lebanon, Lebanese security sources said Monday.
"The influx today is very low because [the Syrian army] has surrounded Tall Kalakh," Mayor Khodr al-Hajje of the Lebanese village of Amayer told The Daily Star of Beirut.
Officials said more than 5,000 Syrians have crossed into Lebanon and the number spiked over the weekend. Tall Kalakh is 30 miles west of the Syrian city of Homs, where protesters have clashed with President Bashar Assad's regime.
The Lebanese army warned against "any attempts to destabilize the area" and promised "severe legal measures against violators."
Local officials said Syrians have been crossing by other nearby routes.
Fighting between the Syrian army and protesters raged in Tall Kalakh Sunday, and a soldier and a woman died after being evacuated to hospitals in northern Lebanon.
Social Affairs Minister Salim Sayegh said Lebanon has begun taking humanitarian aid to the refugees.