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| Syrian army recaptures strategic stronghold of Qusair | | | Dubai: After two months of heavy fighting, Syrian troops backed by the Lebanese Hizbollah have recaptured the strategic town of Qusair, opening the door for the government’s military consolidation over vast swathes of territory in country’s center and the coastline to the west.
The infliction of a strategic defeat on the armed opposition could well turn out to be defining the moment of a conflict that has lasted more than two bloodstained years. Speaking to Beirut based Mayadeen television, Brigadier General Yahya Suleiman of the Syrian army said: "Whoever controls Qusair controls the center of the country, and whoever controls the center of the country controls all of Syria".
The victory over Qusair was symbolised by the riveting image shown on Lebanon’s Al Manar television of a man climbing and planting the Syrian flag on top of the town’s bullet-riddled clock tower. "Our heroic armed forces have returned security and stability to all of the town of Qusair," a triumphant statement carried by Syrian state television said.
The opposition fighters have acknowledged that they have lost Qusair. In a statement quoted by Reuters, the anti-government forces said: "In face of this huge arsenal and lack supplies and the blatant intervention of Hizbollah... tens of fighters stayed behind and ensured the withdrawal of their comrades along with the civilians."
Analysts point out that Qusair’s fall to government forces means that the routes from northern Lebanon used for funneling weapons, supplies and personnel have been blocked. The cutting of supply lines in turn implies that the city of Homs—the hotbed of the anti-government revolt -- has been successfully isolated.
The Syrian army’s military assertion over Qusair has vital implications on two other counts. The capital, Damascus, will now be easily connected to the coastal areas such as Tartus—the port city where the Russians have established a military base—through a route which passes through this newly controlled area. Some observers are also of the view that freed from its pro-occupation with Qusair, the Syrian army will be better positioned to target the opposition in its other strongholds, such as Aleppo.
The Syrian army’s success can be attributed to its two-phased plan.
For 46 days, government troops battled for control over the surrounding countryside before attacking the town. The combined forces of the Syrian army and Hizbollah took a fortnight to overrun Qusair, where the presence of hardline Salafi groups from neighbouring Lebanon had reinforced the opposition.
The opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander, Salim Idris, seemed to inject a sectarian dimension to the situation by pointing to the role of Hizbollah—an Iran-backed Shia organisation—in tilting the balance in favour of the government. He told Saudi funded Al Arabiya television channel that 15,000 Hizbollah fighters had joined the Syrian army nationwide.
The turnaround in the military situation is likely to influence Wednesday’s meeting of officials from Russia and the United States in Geneva for arranging an international conference to resolve the Syrian crisis. |
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