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Rebels Say they Lost Battle for Qusayr but Vow to Fight 'Lebanese Mercenaries'

Syria's rebels conceded on Tuesday they had lost the battle for the strategic town of Qusayr but vowed to fight “thousands of Lebanese mercenaries” after the army seized total control of it and the surrounding region.

The main opposition National Coalition shrugged off the defeat, declaring the "revolution will continue".

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Army Vows to 'Crush' Rebels Across Syria after Regaining Control of Qusayr

The army vowed on Wednesday to trounce rebel fighters across Syria hours after recapturing Qusayr following a more than two-week assault on the strategic town on the border with Lebanon.

"After successive advances in the war against organised terrorists, our armed forces say they will not hesitate to crush the armed men wherever they are and in every corner of Syria," it said in a statement.

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Aoun Calls for Replacing Security Officials, Says FPM MPs Won't Resign

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday said the Constitutional Council “cannot but accept” the challenges filed against the extension of parliament's term, calling for the replacement of security officials over the dire security situation in Tripoli.

“We extensively discussed the challenge we have filed and the possible effects should it be accepted. We agreed that as is the case with any vacant seat, elections would have to take place within 60 days and the parliament would be dissolved,” Aoun said after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc in Rabiyeh.

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Sabra Urges Berri to Open 'Humanitarian Corridors' in Qusayr: Delaying Aid Leads to Massacre

Caretaker leader of the Syrian National Coalition George Sabra on Tuesday urged Speaker Nabih Berri to open “humanitarian corridors” to evacuate the wounded in the neighboring country's border town of a-Qusayr.

"There are more than 1000 wounded persons in al-Qusayr, 400 of them are in critical conditions, and we do not have enough support in the town to heal these people,” Sabra explained in a videotaped speech posted online.

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Lebanese Fighters Killed in Syria as More Rockets Land in Hermel

At least one Hizbullah member was killed overnight in clashes with Syrian rebels on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon, a security source told Agence France Presse on Sunday.

"Clashes took place between a group of FSA (Free Syrian Army) and a group of Hizbullah members coming from Baalbek in a border area between the outskirts of Baalbek and Damascus province in Syria," the source said.

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Syria Accuses Erdogan of 'Terrorizing' Turks

Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Syria's former ally Turkey on Saturday of "terrorizing" his own people and called on him to resign.

"The demands of the Turkish people do not justify this violence, and if Erdogan is incapable of using non-violent methods, then he should quit," state television cited Zohbi as saying after rioting in Istanbul.

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Aoun to Challenge Extension: They Realized 1960 Law Won't Secure Victory

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said on Friday that his political rivals “realized they will not win the polls even if the 1960's electoral law was adopted,” announcing also that he has prepared “a thorough file” to challenge the extension of the parliament's mandate.

"They do not want to hold the elections maybe because even the 1960's electoral law does not secure their victory,” Aoun stated after an exceptional meeting of the Change and Reform bloc at his residence in al-Metn's Rabieh neighborhood.

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Assad Says to Run in 2014 Poll if People Want, Hizbullah Fighting in Qusayr Only

Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Thursday that he would run in the 2014 presidential poll if that is the desire of the Syrian people, noting that Hizbullah is only fighting in the town of Qusayr, not entire Syria.

"The main battle is in Damascus and Aleppo, not in Qusayr, and Hizbullah has a limited number of fighters, even if they numbered 2,000, but we're speaking of a war involving thousands of fighters," Assad said in an interview with al-Manar television.

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Geagea: We Need New Government Independent of Hizbullah's Influence

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea slammed on Wednesday Hizbullah's fighting in Syria, warning that it will incur “severe consequences” on Lebanon.

He therefore demanded the formation of a new government independent of the party's influence, while saying that the LF supports a technical extension of parliament's term instead of the adoption of the 1960 electoral law for the parliamentary elections.

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Aoun: I Won't Extend Term of Parliament that Has Usurped My Rights

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun announced on Tuesday his rejection of the extension of parliament's tenure.

He said after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting: “I will not vote for the extension of the term of parliament, which is populated by lawmakers who have usurped my rights.”

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