Strong fires spread in different parts of Lebanon forcing some residents to flee their homes in the middle of the night as the flames reached residential areas in villages south of Beirut.

Fire engines were overwhelmed by the flames in the Mount Lebanon region early Tuesday, forcing the Interior Ministry to send riot police engines equipped with water cannons to help.

Two small aircraft were sent from the nearby Mediterranean island of Cyprus and are helping in putting out the fires.

A heat wave hitting the region and strong winds helped intensify the fires in pine forests around Lebanon and three provinces in neighboring Syria.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri said that if the fires turn out to be intentional those behind it "will pay a price.''