AKKAR — A group of young people from the village of Meshmesh in Akkar, northern Lebanon, blocked the path of a minibus they considered suspicious on Sunday, preventing it from continuing on its route. They determined that the driver was Lebanese and that his passengers were 13 Syrian nationals who had illegally entered Lebanese territory via one of the clandestine passages in north-eastern Syria. The minibus was apparently heading for Beirut.

It was not clear whether the group included former soldiers or officers of the deposed Syrian regime. The van's passengers were handed over to the Lebanese Army. The Assad family regime was toppled on Dec. 8 and the deposed president fled to Russia. Since then, many of his supporters and soldiers have fled or tried to flee Syria. Several Assad family members have escaped through the Beirut airport.