Syrian forces take two villages near Lebanon

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian forces took control of two villages near the Lebanese border on Saturday after driving out rebels, state media said, helping President Bashar al-Assad secure the route connecting Damascus with Aleppo and the Mediterranean coast.

The fall of Flita and Ras Maara, two of the last rebel bastions in the area, is likely to push militants and refugees over the border into Lebanon, risking further destabilising the Mediterranean country whose own 15-year civil war ended in 1990.