Syrian army storms rebel town Qusair

BBC News online - 19 May 2013

Footage posted online purported to show the bombardment

Syrian troops have stormed the rebel stronghold of Qusair and now control the town centre, state media say.

State TV says 70 "terrorists" have been killed while activists say 40 people have died including many rebels.

The town, near the Lebanese border, has been under siege for weeks. Its control would give the government access from the capital to the coast.

Lebanese militants are said to be involved - Hezbollah siding with the government, Sunni gunmen with rebels.
For the rebels, control of Qusair means they can come and go from neighbouring Lebanon, says the BBC's Jim Muir, in Beirut.

Analysis

Jim Muir BBC News, Beirut

What appears to be a concerted government attempt to recapture Qusair from the rebels had been in the making for some time.
In a sense, Qusair had already fallen militarily, since the rebels appear to have lost control of most of the surrounding villages and countryside adjacent to the Lebanese border.
It adds to a string of setbacks rebels have suffered in recent weeks, especially along the Lebanese and Jordanian borders and around Damascus itself.
Rebel commanders blame their recent losses on the drying-up of arms supplies from outside. Qatar and others are reported to have recently cut deliveries, perhaps in response to US reservations about enabling a victory by a rebel movement in which the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front is playing a lead role.
Certainly the government forces, bolstered by apparently open-ended support from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, have in recent weeks had a new spring in their step.

Syrian opposition activists said government air strikes and heavy shelling on Sunday had killed at least 40 people including 21 rebel fighters.

State TV said that troops had taken over buildings in the centre, including the town hall, and were now chasing out "terrorists" - its term for the rebels.

Qusair resident and opposition activist Hadi Abdullah said civilians had sought shelter in basements.
He denied the regime had made any advances in the town and said that the municipality building was destroyed in fighting months ago.

"It's the heaviest [shelling] since the beginning of the revolution," he said, quoted by AP news agency.

Earlier, Rami Abdel Rahman, of UK-based activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said troops were advancing from the south and Hezbollah fighters were "playing a central role".
"Soldiers and tanks are trying to advance into the town, the rebel forces are attempting to push them back," he told AFP news agency.

There are also reports that hundreds of Lebanese Sunni militants have joined the fight on the rebels' side, our correspondent says.
In another development, the Lebanese National News Agency reported that eight Soviet-made Grad rockets had struck the north-eastern town of Hermel.

This image taken by a resident of Qusair purports to show damage caused by airstrikes

 

The agency said the short-range missiles were presumably fired from Syria but had caused no damage or casualties.

News of the assault on Qusair came as Mr Assad vowed to continue the "fight against terrorism".
In his first interview since the US and Russia announced plans for a peace conference, Mr Assad told an Argentine newspaper that the meeting should focus on stopping the flow of money and weapons to "terrorists".

He rejected suggestions he might stand down, saying a captain did not abandon his ship and presidential elections next year would determine his future.

The conference, scheduled for June, will try to persuade the Syrian government and opposition to accept a deal, including an immediate cessation of violence.

The plan, based on a UN-backed proposal, would see the establishment of a transitional government that could include officials serving under President Assad and members of the opposition.
However, neither the Syrian government nor the opposition has yet made a commitment to attend the meeting.

The top US general described Russia's decision to send missiles to Syria as "ill-timed and unfortunate".
Gen Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the shipment would "embolden the regime and prolong the suffering".

Without confirming the shipment, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the supply of missiles to Syria did not break any international rules.

Russia, a key ally of President Assad, has a small naval maintenance facility at the Syrian deep-water port of Tartus.

Last week, the BBC's Ian Pannell was shown video and eyewitness testimony that appear to corroborate allegations of chemical weapons' use in the Syrian town of Saraqeb.
Turkey has given US President Barack Obama what it says is evidence of chemical weapons use in Syria.

The US had warned that such a development would be a "red line" for possible intervention.
But Mr Obama said more specific details were needed about alleged chemical attacks.
Russia has consistently opposed any international intervention in Syria, along the lines of the Libyan conflict in 2011.

The UN said last week that the death toll in Syria had reached at least 80,000 since the conflict began in March 2011. Activists said the number could be as high as 120,000.