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SYRIAN FORCES TIGHTENING GRIP ON REBEL STRONGHOLD NEAR LEBANON
March 4, 2014 - 17:46 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Syrian government forces are tightening their grip
on the last rebel stronghold near the border with Lebanon a day after
taking control of a key village in the area, a field commander told
reporters on Tuesday, March 4, according to the Associated Press.
According to the commander, forces loyal to President Bashar Assad
are gaining ground in the battle for Yabroud, an opposition-held town
in the mountainous Qalamoun region along Syria's border with Lebanon
that is also a key supply route for the rebels.
The commander said government troops ousted opposition fighters
from the village of al-Sahel on Monday, bringing down the rebels'
"first defense line" of Yabroud. He spoke to reporters during a
government-led tour of al-Sahel and did not give his name, in line
with military regulations.
Backed by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, Syrian troops have been on
the offensive in Qalamoun since December, trying to sever the rebel
supply route from Lebanon.
Lebanese Hezbollah leaders are keen on having the region across the
border in Syria cleared of the overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim rebels
trying to topple Assad's government. The Shiite militant group claims
that several cars that were used in recent bombings in Beirut have
been rigged in Yabroud and smuggled into Lebanon for attacks on
Hezbollah strongholds.
Al Qaeda-linked groups have claimed responsibility for several of
the attacks in Lebanon, saying they were retaliation for the groups'
military backing for Assad on the battlefield.
Opposition groups said fighting was underway on Tuesday on the edge
of Yabroud, with military helicopters dropping barrel bombs on the
town's outskirts. Such bombs, a weapon of choice in government attacks
on far-flung rebel strongholds, are packed with explosives and fuel
and are intended to cause massive damage to urban areas.
Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights,
an activist group, said rebels fighting in Yabroud predominantly belong
to hard-line Islamic group, including the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front
and the breakaway group of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
The Syrian field commander said the army is battling "terrorists" in
Qalamoun and troops are determined to clear the area by launching a
final assault from al-Sahel. He said "moral was high among the troops
as they fulfill their mission" to capture Yabroud.
The village was deserted on Tuesday as the government troops escorted
reporters along. There was damage on several houses and a mosque,
apparently from fighting, and telephone and electricity cables were
torn from poles and strewn on sidewalks.
At least one body, of a man, was seen on the ground, according to
the AP.
"It was a real battle and we didn't give the gunmen any chance to
negotiate," the commander said. He did not say if the army or the
rebels sustained any casualties, but said the troops detained more
than 30 opposition fighters after capturing the village.
Many of those captured were Syrians, the commander said, although
there were also foreign fighters who had traveled to Syria from Saudi
Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon to battle Assad's troops.
From: A. Papazian
March 4, 2014 - 17:46 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Syrian government forces are tightening their grip
on the last rebel stronghold near the border with Lebanon a day after
taking control of a key village in the area, a field commander told
reporters on Tuesday, March 4, according to the Associated Press.
According to the commander, forces loyal to President Bashar Assad
are gaining ground in the battle for Yabroud, an opposition-held town
in the mountainous Qalamoun region along Syria's border with Lebanon
that is also a key supply route for the rebels.
The commander said government troops ousted opposition fighters
from the village of al-Sahel on Monday, bringing down the rebels'
"first defense line" of Yabroud. He spoke to reporters during a
government-led tour of al-Sahel and did not give his name, in line
with military regulations.
Backed by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, Syrian troops have been on
the offensive in Qalamoun since December, trying to sever the rebel
supply route from Lebanon.
Lebanese Hezbollah leaders are keen on having the region across the
border in Syria cleared of the overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim rebels
trying to topple Assad's government. The Shiite militant group claims
that several cars that were used in recent bombings in Beirut have
been rigged in Yabroud and smuggled into Lebanon for attacks on
Hezbollah strongholds.
Al Qaeda-linked groups have claimed responsibility for several of
the attacks in Lebanon, saying they were retaliation for the groups'
military backing for Assad on the battlefield.
Opposition groups said fighting was underway on Tuesday on the edge
of Yabroud, with military helicopters dropping barrel bombs on the
town's outskirts. Such bombs, a weapon of choice in government attacks
on far-flung rebel strongholds, are packed with explosives and fuel
and are intended to cause massive damage to urban areas.
Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights,
an activist group, said rebels fighting in Yabroud predominantly belong
to hard-line Islamic group, including the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front
and the breakaway group of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
The Syrian field commander said the army is battling "terrorists" in
Qalamoun and troops are determined to clear the area by launching a
final assault from al-Sahel. He said "moral was high among the troops
as they fulfill their mission" to capture Yabroud.
The village was deserted on Tuesday as the government troops escorted
reporters along. There was damage on several houses and a mosque,
apparently from fighting, and telephone and electricity cables were
torn from poles and strewn on sidewalks.
At least one body, of a man, was seen on the ground, according to
the AP.
"It was a real battle and we didn't give the gunmen any chance to
negotiate," the commander said. He did not say if the army or the
rebels sustained any casualties, but said the troops detained more
than 30 opposition fighters after capturing the village.
Many of those captured were Syrians, the commander said, although
there were also foreign fighters who had traveled to Syria from Saudi
Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon to battle Assad's troops.
From: A. Papazian