Syrian TV says army regains control of Qusair
'Heroic' forces loyal to President Assad 'restore security and peace' after successfully dismantling 'terrorist networks' in strategic border town
VIDEO - The Syrian army has regained control of the strategic town of Qusair on the border with Lebanon, Syrian state television said on Wednesday.
Government and rebel forces have been fighting in Qusair for more than two weeks in a two-year-old civil war that has killed more than 80,000. The town is on a cross-border supply route between Lebanon and Syria.
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The Lebanese Al Mayadeen television channel showed soldiers sticking Syrian flags with photographs of President Bashar Assad on piles of rubble in the streets.
"Our heroic armed forces have returned security and stability to all of the town of Qusair," a statement carried by Syrian state television said.
The state TV said the army "restored security and peace" after successfully dismantling "terrorist networks" operating in the town over the last few days. An official in the governor's office of Homs province confirmed the report.
"At 6.30 am, Qusair became secure," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to the media about an ongoing military operation.
Government troops, backed by Hezbollah, launched a wide offensive on the town on May 19.
Rebels in Qusair (Photo: Reuters)
One Hezbollah fighter told Reuters, "We did a sudden surprise attack in the early hours and entered the town, they escaped," he said.
Al Mayadeen further reported that the Syrian army began clearing mines after it regained control of Qusair. Hezbollah's Al-Manar television network said Qusair has been "completely disconnected" from the rebels, who have fled to nearby towns.
Assad forces approach Qusair (Photo: AFP)
Syrian rebels said they have withdrawn from Qusair.
The Qusair region is crucial in that it connects Damascus with Syria’s Mediterranean coast, the homeland of the country’s minority Alawite population. Assad must keep the route between Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon to the coast open. Opposition sources have claimed that the coastal area may serve as a "refuge Alawite state" in case Assad is overthrown in Damascus and Syria will dissolve into separate ethnic and religious sects.
Fighting in Qusair (Photo: AFP, Syrian TV)
For the rebels, who had been in control of the town ever since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, holding Qusair meant protecting their supply line to Lebanon, just 10 kilometers (six miles) away.
On Tuesday an official in the governor's office of Homs province said the Syrian army, which is backed by Hezbollah fighters, was "approaching victory" in Qusair, almost three weeks after launching an offensive to recapture the western town,.
He said the troops were advancing from the east and south of Qusair, fighting pockets of resistance along the way.
On Monday, opposition elements claimed rebels managed to destroy three tanks and kill 35 Hezbollah fighters in Qusair.
A doctor coordinating medical treatment in Qusair said troops have been pounding western parts of the town with artillery as they move toward the center.
He said he can't venture out of his makeshift clinic that has been set up in one of the houses in the town after the main hospital in Qusair was destroyed in earlier fighting. He said the rebels are resisting, but cannot match the government's Hezbollah-backed firepower.
"The rebels are not able to cover all the areas. The regime provides air cover and artillery shelling and the Hezbollah fighters are clashing (with the rebels on the ground) and advancing," Alzein said, adding that the makeshift clinics he oversees around the town have received 42 wounded and the bodies of five people killed in Tuesday's fighting.
AP, Reuters contributed to the report
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