Syrian army retakes town of Qusair
Syrian army tanks patrol Qusair after recapturing the town
Syrian army tanks patrol Qusair after recapturing the town
Syrian government forces have taken full control of the strategic town of Qusair, state TV and the rebels say.
The town, near the Lebanese border, has been the focus of
fierce fighting for more than two weeks between rebels and Syrian troops
backed by fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.State TV said a large number of rebels had died and many others had surrendered as troops advanced swiftly.
The rebels said they withdrew overnight in the face of a massive assault.
Television pictures showed widespread destruction, with many buildings reduced to rubble and no civilians in sight.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it hoped to gain access to the town to help civilians caught up in the fighting.
"There are reports of hundreds of people that have been wounded that have not been able to receive the necessary medical treatment," ICRC spokeswoman Rima Kamal told the BBC.
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The fall of Qusair to government forces has been hailed by Damascus as an important strategic victory.
But given the massive firepower deployed by government forces, and the fact that their assault was spearheaded by Hezbollah fighters, the fact that it took more than two weeks to achieve was an embarrassment to Damascus, which prematurely announced the town's conquest at the beginning of the campaign.
Since both sides had chosen to attach political and symbolic value to the battle for the town, its loss was none the less a blow for the opposition, although activist groups put a brave face on it by saying they had lost one round but that the contest goes on.
Government control of most of the surrounding countryside had already virtually cut an important rebel supply line to Homs and central Syria. The loss of Qusair itself consolidates that gain.
The political impact will also be felt by the Americans in their talks with Russia and the UN in Geneva on preparations for an international peace conference on Syria.
Russia and its Syrian government allies have been left looking strong and coherent, both militarily and politically. With the Western-backed opposition in political disarray and having taken a blow on the ground, the Americans are left with a weak hand.
Analysis
But given the massive firepower deployed by government forces, and the fact that their assault was spearheaded by Hezbollah fighters, the fact that it took more than two weeks to achieve was an embarrassment to Damascus, which prematurely announced the town's conquest at the beginning of the campaign.
Since both sides had chosen to attach political and symbolic value to the battle for the town, its loss was none the less a blow for the opposition, although activist groups put a brave face on it by saying they had lost one round but that the contest goes on.
Government control of most of the surrounding countryside had already virtually cut an important rebel supply line to Homs and central Syria. The loss of Qusair itself consolidates that gain.
The political impact will also be felt by the Americans in their talks with Russia and the UN in Geneva on preparations for an international peace conference on Syria.
Russia and its Syrian government allies have been left looking strong and coherent, both militarily and politically. With the Western-backed opposition in political disarray and having taken a blow on the ground, the Americans are left with a weak hand.
She said there were also reports of shortages of food, water and medical supplies.
Qusair's fall comes as plans have stalled for an
international peace conference to find a political solution to the
two-year-old Syrian conflict. The UN and Arab League envoy to Syria,
Lakhdar Brahimi, said the talks might now be held in July, rather than
June as had been planned.'Clear message'
The Syrian government hailed the capture of Qusair - which had been in rebel hands for more than a year - as an important strategic victory.
The town lies just 10km (six miles) from the Lebanese border and is close to important supply routes for both sides in the conflict.
The army said Qusair's capture was "a clear message to all those who share in the aggression on Syria... that we will continue our string of victories until we regain every inch of Syrian land".
The state news agency, Sana, reported that a large number of "terrorists", as the government refers to the rebels, had been killed and many had surrendered.
It said the army was now destroying barricades and weapons caches, and searching the town for booby-traps.
Lebanon's al-Manar TV, which is owned by Hezbollah, reported the "widespread collapse" of the rebel forces in the town, while one Hezbollah fighter told the Reuters news agency: "We did a sudden surprise attack in the early hours and entered the town. They escaped."
Rebel commanders said their fighters had withdrawn overnight.
Syrian army: "We declare the city of Qusair as a safe city now"
The military leader of the main rebel umbrella group, the Free Syrian Army, had earlier said his fighters were prepared to take the conflict inside Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah fighters.
Speaking before the rebels lost Qusair, Gen Selim Idriss told the BBC that Hezbollah fighters were "invading" Syria and that Lebanon was doing nothing to stop them.
The battle for Qusair has highlighted the growing role of the Lebanese Shia militant group in the Syrian conflict - a development that has heightened sectarian tensions in the wider region.
The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says the fall of the town has symbolic importance in the run-up to a proposed peace conference, because neither side wants to go into the talks looking weak.
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Strategic town of Qusair
- Estimated population of 30,000 people
- Up to 10,000 people have fled to neighbouring towns and 1,500 people are wounded, the UN says
- Some 23 villages and 12 farms west of Qusair are reportedly inhabited by Lebanese Shia
- Near the main route from Damascus to port of Tartous, a gateway to the heartland of President Assad's Alawite sect
Russian and US officials met in
Geneva on Wednesday to try to arrange a date and other details of the
conference, but they were unable to agree on who would attend and no
talks were now expected this month.
The Syrian opposition has neither confirmed that it will
attend nor established a delegation. The government has said it will
attend "in principle", as long as no unreasonable pre-conditions are
set.'New levels of brutality' More than 80,000 people have been killed in Syria and more than 1.5 million have fled the country since an uprising against Mr Assad began in 2011, according to UN estimates.
The UN reported on Tuesday that the war had reached "new levels of brutality", with evidence of massacres and children being taken hostage of forced to witness - sometimes participate in - atrocities.
There is also growing evidence that chemical weapons have been used in the conflict.
France's Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, said on Tuesday that samples taken from Syria and tested in France showed the nerve agent sarin had been used in a localised manner.
Mr Fabius said there was no doubt that "the regime and its accomplices" were responsible.
He said all options - including possible military action against chemical weapons stores - were on the table.
But a French government spokeswoman later said France would not intervene unilaterally.
The UK also says it has tested samples which show sarin has been used in Syria.
The Syrian government has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons, and has in turn accused the rebels of doing so, which they have also rejected.
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