Syrian army enters village near Turkish border

Beirut: An activist group says Syrian troops backed by tanks and firing heavy machine guns have entered a village near the Turkish border.

The Local Coordination Committees, a group that documents anti-government protests, says troops backed by six tanks entered Bdama early on Saturday. The village is about 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the Turkish border.

On Friday, Syrian forces swept into Maaret al-Numan, a town on the highway linking Damascus, the capital, with Syria's largest city, Aleppo.

Bdama is adjacent to Jisr al-Shughour, a town that was spinning out of government control before the military recaptured it last Sunday.

Human rights activists say more than 1,400 Syrians have been killed in the three-month uprising against President Bashar Assad.