As UN inspectors crossed the border from Syria into Lebanon Saturday, they were followed out of the war-torn country by a continuous flow of families desperate to flee the threat of US strikes.
Cars filled with weary-looking passengers, their open boots packed to the brim with bags and suitcases crossed the Masnaa border post in a constant -- though not massive -- exodus as a US intervention over a suspected gas attack appeared increasingly imminent.
"I'm going to rent a house near Anjar (in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa valley) and we will wait for things to calm down," said Abu Malek, a 31-year-old Syrian who works in an aluminium factory near the capital Damascus.
Carrying a carton of supplies handed over by a Qatari NGO that welcomes Syrian refugees some 300 metres (yards) from the border post, he said people in his home country were "terrified".
"Those who can, leave. But many people can't."
The threat of strikes on Syrian army targets in Damascus and surrounding areas has become an increasingly imminent reality as UN inspectors probing the alleged gas attack last week left the country at dawn on Saturday.
US President Barack Obama said Friday that his administration was looking at the possibility of a "limited, narrow act" over the suspected attack that reportedly killed hundreds, which Washington blames on the regime.
This threat comes on top of months and months of violence in a conflict that has seen more than 100,000 people die.
Most of those crossing the border had the means and money to do so. Not so for Aicha, a 60-year-old woman wearing a black veil, her lower jaw almost toothless.
Sitting in the shade with her daughter-in-law, she said she arrived on Friday to accompany her son who travelled on to Turkey to find work, and intended to return to Damascus if she could find transport.
"I'm scared, we're all scared of US strikes, but what can we do? We are dependent on God," she sighed.
"We are neutral in this war, we don't understand anything about what is going on. We have lost our house and we are living with friends in another area."
Majida, her 33-year-old daughter-in-law, added that they would like to stay in Lebanon.
"But we don't have any money, we have nowhere to go. So we have to go back," she said.
For almost a year, the Qatari NGO Al Asmah, funded by rich families from the Arab state, has set up a centre in Masnaa to welcome Syrian refugees.
Flashing their Syrian identity cards, refugees are able to get cartons of food and other useful items.
"Over the past few days, since the US threats, the number of families that we see has doubled," said director Omar Mohammed Koeis.
"We now provide for 60 to 70 families a day."
In a nearby parking lot, Amer Abed, a 27-year-old unemployed man who came from a Damascus suburb, was emptying the contents of the overflowing boot of an old Mercedes car into a van.
Weary women got out of the car, holding young, surprised-looking children in their arms.
"I want these US strikes to happen," he said to several foreign journalists.
"You journalists, and the entire world, are watching our country go up in flames without doing anything. Hate has taken over our hearts.
"I want these strikes because if Americans attack us and kill us once and for all, then maybe the Arabs will unite to defend us."
AFP
Sat Aug 31 2013
![Fearing US missiles, Syrians escape to Lebanon Fearing US missiles, Syrians escape to Lebanon](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-08/41377953486_295x200.jpg)
10 Berita Pilihan - (16 Julai 2024
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
PAC beri tempoh tiga bulan kepada HRD Corp
Jawatankuasa Kira-kira Wang Negara (PAC) memberi tempoh tiga bulan kepada Perbadanan Pembangunan Sumber Manusia (HRD Corp) untuk mengemukakan laporan tindakan susulan terhadap syor jawatankuasa itu.
Kylian Mbappe tandatangan kontrak dengan Real Madrid
Bintang bola sepak Perancis Kylian Mbappe menandatangani kontrak selama lima tahun dengan kelab Sepanyol Real Madrid pada Selasa.
Pelepasan ketujuh air sisa nuklear Fukushima ke laut selesai
Jepun telah menyelesaikan pusingan ketujuh pelepasan air sisa radioaktif yang dirawat dari loji kuasa nuklear Fukushima Daiichi ke Lautan Pasifik pada Selasa.
Empat termasuk kapten maut dalam pertempuran
Empat anggota tentera India termasuk kapten meninggal dunia akibat kecederaan selepas pertempuuran pada malam isnin di Hutan Desa.
Pakistan sahkan 4 warganya terbunuh di Oman
Pakistan berkata pada Selasa empat warganya terbunuh dalam insiden tembakan pada malam Isnin berhampiran ibu negara Oman, Muscat.
Lima terbunuh, puluhan cedera dalam protes antikuota di Bangladesh
Sekurang-kurangnya empat orang terbunuh dan puluhan lagi cedera dalam pertempuran antara pelajar yang memprotes sistem kuota dalam pekerjaan sektor awam dan polis di pelbagai bahagian Bangladesh pada Selasa.
Kerajaan cadang perkenal pembiayaan swasta
Kerajaan menyasarkan untuk memperkenalkan pembiayaan swasta alternatif bagi memastikan kemampanan kewangan program sektor air, sekali gus mengurangkan kebergantungan pada perbelanjaan kerajaan dan mengukuhkan daya tahan.
Saya tak fitnah Guan Eng, cuma jelaskan siasatan SPRM - Muhyiddin
Presiden Bersatu Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin memberitahu Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur hari ini bahawa beliau tidak memfitnah Lim Guan Eng berhubung isu pengecualian cukai terhadap Yayasan Albukhary
KPT alu-alukan dapatan, cadangan PAC - Zambry
Ini termasuklah cadangan pelaksanaan Garis Panduan Pelaburan dan Pembiayaan oleh Universiti Awam 2024 kepada anak-anak syarikat di bawah seliaan Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT).