Syrian Army, Hizbullah Seize Full Control of Rebel Town Yabrud
The Syrian army and Hizbullah seized full control of the rebel bastion Yabrud on Sunday, dealing the opposition a heavy symbolic and strategic blow in the Qalamoun region adjoining the Lebanese border.
An Agence France Presse reporter entered the town and said the Syrian army took total control of it after a fierce 48-hour-battle with rebels.
"We took total control of the town at 10:00 am (0800 GMT)," an army officer confirmed to AFP as visibly exhausted soldiers rested on pavements lining the streets.
"This was the most difficult battle we have fought because the rebels were in mountains surrounding the town, and in buildings in Yabrud," the officer said.
"First we had to occupy the hills, and then on Saturday we entered the town through the east, up to the sports center. Today we finished the work," he added.
Regime troops were backed by fighters from Hizbullah and pro-regime militiamen.
While scores of soldiers and fighters wearing different kinds of uniforms could be seen in Yabrud, not one civilian could be spotted anywhere.
Graffiti in the colors of the pro-revolt flag still adorned the heavily damaged town's walls, while a fighter jet could be heard overhead.
Earlier, the army announced it had "returned security and stability to the town of Yabrud and its surroundings in northern Damascus province."
"This new success... is an important step towards securing the border area with Lebanon, and cutting off the roads and tightening the noose around the remaining terrorist cells in Damascus province," the military added.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an NGO, said Hizbullah had led the operation and "taken control of large parts of Yabrud."
The Observatory and sources across the border in Lebanon reported multiple air raids including with explosive-packed barrel bombs on the area between Yabrud and Arsal inside Lebanon.
The NGO said at least six people were killed in raids on the area, among them two children.
Syrian state television said the army was targeting "groups of terrorists" fleeing Yabrud in the direction of Arsal.
The fall of Yabrud comes after months of Syrian army operations in the strategic Qalamoun region, north of Damascus, where the town is situated.
Late last year, the army captured a string of nearby towns before turning its sights to Yabrud.
The town was once home to some 30,000 people, including a Christian minority, and had been a rebel bastion since early in the Syrian uprising that began in March 2011.
According to Abou Akram, a Syrian army soldier in Yabrud, the military now aims to take over Flita and Rankus, two rebel positions on the road to Lebanon.
In addition to its symbolic importance, the town is a key strategic prize because of its proximity to the highway and the Lebanese border, across which rebels have smuggled fighters and weapons.
The capture of the town, and continuing army operations in the surrounding area, will sever important supply lines for the rebels as they face several army advances on different fronts.
"It underlines yet again that the real momentum in the strategic zones of this conflict is now with the government," said Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brooking Doha Center.
The town's seizure could also place new pressure on Lebanon's Arsal, which is hosting at least 51,000 Syrian refugees, many from the Qalamoun region.
Sunni Arsal is largely sympathetic to the Sunni-led uprising, and rebel fighters are believed to have bases in areas around the town, which are regularly targeted by Syrian war planes.
Arsal municipality official Ahmad Fliti told AFP that the Syrian air force was staging continuous raids outside the town on Sunday.
Yabrud's capture was celebrated in Damascus by hundreds of residents who took to the streets to celebrate. And in Lebanon, Hizbullah supporters fired celebratory gunshots in the air in Beirut and its southern suburbs.
Hizbullah is believed to have played a key role in the town's capture, and Lister said he expected the group to continue cooperating with regime forces in the area.
"It is likely that joint Hizbullah-Syrian army forces in the area could end up fanning out with the secondary aim of acquiring near total control of the Lebanese border," he said.
Hizbullah's involvement in Syria has prompted retaliatory bomb and rocket attacks by extremist groups against areas in Lebanon sympathetic to the movement. The attacks have mostly killed civilians.
The group and Lebanese security forces have said many of the car bombs used in those attacks originated in Yabrud.
The town's fall comes a day into the fourth year of Syria's conflict, which has killed more than 146,000 people.
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet
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