Syrian forces are besieging a key town in the Qalamoun mountains, activists said yesterday, a region used by rebels to cross from Lebanon and which links the capital to government strongholds along the coast.

Activist video footage showed artillery damage in the small highway town of Qara, roughly 50 kilometres north of Damascus. The UN says around 1,000 families fled Qara for the Lebanese frontier on Saturday as the army closed in.

But UN refugee agency spokeswoman Dana Sleiman said there were no more families crossing the border yesterday. This could be a result of closed army checkpoints around Qara.

A battle for the Qalamoun area, predicted for months by observers on both sides, could lead to unrest in neighbouring Lebanon as refugee numbers rise and Sunni Muslim anger grows against the Lebanese Shi’ite Hizbollah group.

Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have used sieges to root out rebels from residential areas in the war that has cost over 100,000 lives and displaced millions.

Sieges cost less in terms of money and casualties and have been a preferred method for the Syria army, even as civilians are trapped.