Hundreds of Syrians have fled across the border into neighboring Lebanon to escape escalating violence in their homeland.

A Lebanese security official said Saturday that up to 1,000 Syrians, at least six with gunshot wounds, have crossed into northern Lebanon over the past two days near the border town of Wadi Khaled. The injured refugees are receiving treatment in Lebanese hospitals.

The new arrivals join thousands of other Syrians who entered Lebanon in May and early June.

The latest group of refugees fled shortly after Syrian security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters Friday, killing least 20 people, including two children. A Syrian rights group that collected reports from around the country said most of the deaths occurred in or around the capital, Damascus.

Rami Abdul-Rahman of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said funerals were held Saturday in Damascus' Barzeh neighborhood, in al-Kaswa, south of the capital, and the central city of Homs for the victims of Friday's violence.

The army sent reinforcements into Barzeh Saturday, setting up checkpoints and arresting more than 150 people.

Also Saturday, Syrian troops, backed by tanks, entered the village of al-Najieh, near the border with Turkey, as part of an assault against anti-government centers in northern Idlib Province.

The military's recent sweep through northwestern Syria, where armed resistance flared in early June, has sent more than 12,000 people fleeing into Turkey. The Turkish Red Crescent runs five camps along the border for Syrian refugees.

Turkish officials said Friday that more than 1,500 refugees crossed the border after government troops stormed the town of Khirbet al-Jouz.

Syrian troops were said to be within 500 meters of the Turkish frontier Friday – their closest approach to Turkish territory since military operations in the area began two weeks ago. Turkish troops moved their border positions several hundred meters back to avoid potential confrontations with Syrian units.

Witnesses and activists said tens of thousands of protesters gathered in various locations Friday despite a heavy security presence and fears of the continuing crackdown.

Demonstrators in Syria attempting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad have been under assault by pro-government forces for more than 100 days.

In the Damascus suburb of Irbin , protesters shouted, “Tell the world Bashar is without legitimacy.” Syrian state television claimed “armed gangs,” not government forces, killed three people in another area of the capital.

Details of the latest violence could not be independently confirmed because Syria allows very few foreign news reporters into the country, and such visitors do not have full freedom of movement.

Activists say Syria's crackdown has killed at least 1,400 people in the last three months.