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Syrian forces retake Armenian village

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  • Syrian forces retake Armenian village

    Los Angeles Times
    June 15 2014

    Syrian forces retake Armenian village


    Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad overran rebel positions
    in an Armenian border town in northern Syria on Sunday after months of
    fighting, according to activists and the government.

    The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposition,
    Britain-based watchdog with a network of activists on the ground,
    reported that fighters from the Lebanese Shiite militant group
    Hezbollah as well as special forces units from the Syrian army were
    able to seize control of the town of Kessab on the Syrian-Turkish
    border after clashes with Islamist brigades that included the Al
    Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front.

    Syrian state media confirmed the report, saying pro-government forces
    "restored security and stability to Kessab," adding that large numbers
    of armed opponents were killed and their weaponry destroyed. The
    report said the area was being cleared of land mines.

    Pro-government forces and rebel factions have been fighting for
    control of the country for over three years, plunging Syria into a
    vicious civil war that has killed more than 160,000 people and
    destroyed large swaths of the country.

    Kessab, a once-tranquil hamlet of 2,500 people, mostly Armenian
    Christians, was the target last March of a large-scale strike by
    Syrian guerrillas who surged across the Turkish border to seize the
    town and establish a presence in the mountainous region of Latakia
    province, a government stronghold and home to President Assad and his
    ultra-loyalist Alawite minority sect.

    Many Alawite commanders hold key roles in Assad's military and
    security apparatus. Their disproportionate control of the country's
    resources fueled much of the resentment in the country's Sunni
    majority.


    The rebel campaign to control Kessab was at the center of the furor,
    as pro-government media warned of an impending genocide perpetrated by
    Islamist fighters against the town's Armenian population, while
    opposition leaders worked hard to dispel rumors of mistreatment. It
    became a cause célèbre with figures including Kim Kardashian, the
    Armenian American reality-show star, who exhorted her followers on
    Twitters to "get this trending" and join the #SaveKessab hashtag
    campaign.

    http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-syrian-forces-retake-armenian-village-20140615-story.html



    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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