Syria Troops, Hizbullah Bolster Qusayr Fighters
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Syrian elite forces and extra fighters from Hizbullah have been sent to reinforce government troops battling rebels in the strategic border town of Qusayr, a watchdog said on Wednesday.
Government fighter jets early Wednesday bombed rebel zones of the town as regime forces readied to launch a major assault, according the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Hizbullah fighters and crack troops of Syria's elite Republican Guards had been sent to reinforce government ranks, Observatory chief Rami Abdul Rahman told Agence France Presse.
Like Hizbullah's fighters, the Republican Guards have been trained in urban guerrilla warfare, he said.
"The preparations indicate that they are gearing for a major offensive" on neighborhoods in the north and west of the town still under rebel control, Abdul Rahman said.
A source close to Hizbullah has said 80 percent of Qusayr is now under government control.
"Despite the intense bombardment, the rebels are resisting fiercely," Abdul Rahman said.
He added that Sunni militiamen from Lebanon had joined the battle on the side of the rebels.
"The fighting is becoming more and more sectarian (Shiite versus Sunni) in character," he added.
Syria's regime is dominated by the minority Alawite community, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, while the majority of the population are Sunnis.
Control of Qusayr is essential for the rebels as it is their principal transit point for weapons and fighters from across the border in Lebanon.
It is also strategic for the regime because it is located on the road linking Damascus with the coast, its rear base.
"If Qusayr falls into the hands of the regime, it will be a hard blow for the rebels because routes used to bring in their arms from Lebanon will be closed," said the head of the Britain-based Observatory.
"If Qusayr was not strategic the rebels would not be fighting to the death and the regime and Hizbullah would not have brought in their heavyweights," Abdul Rahman added.
"The fall of Qusayr would also be a blow to the morale of the rebels" who for more than two years have been fighting to topple President Bashar Assad's regime.
Iran-backed Hizbullah, a close ally of Assad, sent almost 1,700 fighters to Qusayr more than a week ago to support the regime's assault on the rebel stronghold.
Initially Hizbullah said it wanted only to defend 13 Syrian villages along the border where Lebanese Shiites live, and the Sayyeda Zeinab shrine near Damascus, which is revered by Shiites around the world.
However, its fighters later encircled Qusayr as regime troops prepared for the launch of a withering assault on the town that is home to 25,000 people.
29 May 2013, 12:15
223
"a watchdog said on Wednesday"...
"according the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights"...
"Observatory chief Rami Abdul Rahman told Agence France Presse"...
"A source close to Hizbullah has said"...
Oh ok, everything is clearer now after those credible sources were mentioned.
29 May 2013, 12:50
718
Bolster as much as you want. Qusayr may or may not fall and it is taking the might of the Syrian regime and 5,000-10,000 terrorists of HA to their limits. But, what the devil of HA must know that his promise of victory is unachievable. He seriously thinks he can defeat 15 million Syrians? He might win a battle, but he has already lost the war, both militarily and morally.
29 May 2013, 13:35
611
Maybe you can check the orange website...the news reports there are much more reliable.
29 May 2013, 16:16
213
الله يلعن بشار و حزب الله
Tous des terroristes...he'll eventually fall.
29 May 2013, 13:50
00
Wow, I think Lebanese people didn't learn nothing from 15 years of Civil War... How much hate around.
29 May 2013, 14:10
143
In z end Mighty Bashar /Najaf/ n Sayed will winnn it all whether u like it or not...
29 May 2013, 14:42
63
As usual your thoughts are on line with reality.
Just as a lawyer, before he asks a question to a witness he knows the answer, The govermants who thought of this revolution in Syria, didn't know the end results, and because of that this supposed Arab spring is disintegrating right before there eyes, with the spilling of innocent lives
29 May 2013, 16:44
00
I guess Hizbullah did not hear the chief of staff Salim Idriss's 24-hour ultimatum he gave "hizbushaitan" two days ago! By the way, tomorrow will be 48 hours ago and then the following day will be 72 hours ago... you get the idea.
29 May 2013, 18:16
00
why muslim verses muslim fight.whats the reason because usa and israil wanted muslim fights and we only see.
29 May 2013, 18:35
02
Viens voir mon petit pays d'Europe dirigé par des socialistes et des libéraux.... C'est à gerber. Parfois je me dis que le totalitarisme à de bons côtés... Mais bon, tant que le génocidaire de Bachar est au pouvoir, rien de positif n'est concevable pour le Liban.
29 May 2013, 18:47
10
What that happen each side will say we are defending our lives, property and honour!...hayhat ya abou elzoloof!
29 May 2013, 21:37
23
LOL yes the mighty syrian army with missiles tanks helicopters planes needed the help of foreign troops and the elite of its army to get rid of rebels... seems your assad is weaker than you thought! and why are hezbis there when assad said he didn t need any iranians nor hezbis?
and what about your claims a few weeks ago mocking us when we said hezbis are deeply involved you laughed at us saying they were only in "lebanese" border villages? that is was all BS from abdulrahman and the evil western countries!! that bashar was strong enough to fight a bunch of paid mercenaries...
see all the things you defend and try to prove people that you know everything turns out to be lies and pure propaganda that you repeat from your "objective" sources! hahaha!
29 May 2013, 23:58
12
Mowaten, the reason for the slow pace is because the city is rigged with anti-personnel and anti-tank mines and many quarters are in range of sniper fire. I'm not sold on the exact positions of rebels and pro-syrian factions, but from what I've seen, it may be likely that they will execute prone attacks on the town while guerilla elements infiltrate from other angles, that's the only explanation for the supposed positions. Hizbullah is leading the fray, and so it would be equally devastating, regardless of whether all rebels die if hizbullah's casualties amounted to more than a few hundred.
Furthermore, syrian rebels have not surrendered, I don't know where you read this, but the areas annexed by pro-syrian elements had the smallest concentration of rebels. You never position a defensive line so upfront when matched with airpower and artillery. it is likely that the mines, and IED's improvise layers of defense, similar to Iraq vs Iran.
30 May 2013, 00:02
00
numbers vary, but if they actually lost at-least 5% of their force (if the casualty numbers are correct), there is no way that this rate of attrition is sustainable in any offensive. It is likely that there are more than double that amount, especially when the Syrian army is also protecting against the flanks and rear of the offensive. That's only if the Syrian military has mobilized at least ten thousand, otherwise the hizbullah numbers would be almost four times the amount you gave.
30 May 2013, 00:16
10
Like Hizbullah's fighters, the Republican Guards have been trained in urban guerrilla warfare, he said.
Does anybody have the Arabic version of this statement? or where it can be found? It would be very stupid if this is actually what he said, Hizbullah is not properly trained for this kind of warfare. Hizbullah's upper hand, if that's what people want to call it, is its ability to make use of natural boundaries and cover temporarily, they have no ability to engage in close quarters. At some point they will need to rush in to take the city when faced with a shrinking timeline, and this is when aiming will matter most, which they will do poorly.
30 May 2013, 00:17
00
numbers vary, but if they actually lost at-least 5% of their force (if the casualty numbers are correct), there is no way that this rate of attrition is sustainable in any offensive. It is likely that there are more than double that amount, especially when the Syrian army is also protecting against the flanks and rear of the offensive. That's only if the Syrian military has mobilized at least ten thousand, otherwise the hizbullah numbers would be almost four times the amount you gave.
