Syrians flee violence to Lebanon

Hundreds of Syrians fled to neighboring Lebanon on Saturday to escape a violent crackdown against an anti-government uprising that has claimed the lives of more than 800 civilians, Lebanese security officials and a leading human rights group said.

President Bashar Assad, meanwhile, reportedly has set up a committee to lead a dialogue with the opposition, the latest offer by the regime as it struggles to end the unrest threatening his family's 40-year-old dynasty.

Lebanese security officials said cracks of gunfire from the western Syrian town of Talkalakh were heard on the Lebanese side of the border on Saturday. More than 5,000 Syrians have fled the area in the past weeks, with more than 500 people crossing the border on Saturday, the officials said.

They said four wounded people were brought to Lebanon and that one later died of his wounds.

Caretaker Prime Minster Saad Hariri ordered Lebanese government agencies to work with international aid groups to assist the refugees, his office said in a statement.

The shooting in Talkalakh came a day after Syrian security forces opened fire on thousands of protesters at several rallies across the country, killing at least nine people, said Ammar Qurabi, head of the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria.

Qurabi said that with the latest deaths, the numbers of civilians killed since the protests began in mid-March reached at least 801.

Also Saturday, the website of the private daily Al-Watan, which is close to the government, said Assad had formed a committee tasked with talking to the opposition.

It said the committee will be made up of Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa, Vice President for Cultural Affairs Najah Attar, presidential adviser Bouthaina Shaaban and assistant Vice President Maj. Gen. Mohammed Nassif.

Abdul-Razzak Eid, a senior member of the Damascus Declaration opposition group, told Al-Jazeera TV that the regime should "stop the killing and the bloodshed, allow demonstrations and at least detain two or three officials who are responsible for these crimes."