Four die as Syria’s civil war spills into Lebanon

Syria’s civil war spilled over into neighbouring Lebanon once again yesterday, with gun battles in the northern city of Tripoli between supporters and opponents of president Bashar al-Assad’s regime that left four dead.

Nine Syrian judges and prosecutors also defected to the opposition. It was the latest setback for the regime, with rebels making gains in northern Syria and near Damascus, the capital.

Gerhard Schindler, chief of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service predicted the Assad regime would not survive.