Post date: May 20, 2013 1:55:30 PM
Thirty fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah are killed in fighting with rebels in the Syrian town of Qusair, activists say, showing its deepening intervention in the conflict.
QUSAIR, SYRIA ( MAY 19, 2013) (SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE) - About 30 fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and 20 Syrian soldiers and militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad were killed in heavy fighting with rebels in the town ofQusair, Syrian activists said on Monday (May 20).
Opposition sources and state media gave sharply differing accounts of the outcome of Sunday's (May 19) ferocious battles in the town, long used by rebels as a supply route from the nearby Lebanese border to the provincial capital Homs.Video posted on a social media website purported to show fierce bombardment of the town, with smoke rising from numerous explosions and intense bursts of gunfire. Unidentified rebel groups were filmed firing anti-aircraft guns mounted on pick-up trucks, apparently on the outskirts of the town. One video purported to show a government tank on fire on a street corner.
Reuters is unable to independently verify the content of these videos, which have been obtained from a social media website.
The assault on Qusair appeared to be part of a campaign by Assad's forces to consolidate their grip onDamascus and secure links between the capital and the government strongholds on the coast via the contested central city of Homs.
State news agency SANA said the army had "restored security and stability to most Qusairneighbourhoods" and was "chasing the remnants of the terrorists in the northern district".
However, opposition activists said rebels in Qusair, about 10 km (six miles) from the Lebanese border, had pushed back most of the attacking forces to their original positions in the east of the town and to the south on Sunday, destroying at least four Syrian army tanks and five light Hezbollah vehicles.