Syrian forces open fire in town on Lebanon border

Thousands of Syrian troops backed by armor opened fire in the resort town of Zabadani on the border with Lebanon on Sunday, a day after heavy fighting in the area between army defectors and loyalist forces, residents and activists said.  

Armored vehicles fired machineguns and anti-aircraft guns as they entered the town, in the foothills of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, 35 km west of Damascus.  

Troops combed flat farmland near the town on Saturday looking for defectors, ransacked homes, seized cars and arrested at least 100 people, including three female college students suspected of participating in pro-democracy protests, they said.  

On the other hand, the government troops on Saturday shot dead a prominent activist in eastern Syria who helped organize demonstrations in the region after a military crackdown two months ago, a human rights group said.  

Ziad al-Obeidi, 42, was killed as he fled from security police who stormed his home in the provincial capital of Deir al-Zor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.