Shell invests in Mina West gas development in Egyptian Mediterranean Sea    Egypt's FM highlights 'soft power' in Mali meeting with alumni    Egypt's foreign minister opens business forum in Niger, targets new partnerships    Egypt's FM delivers Al-Sisi message to Niger's leader, seeks deeper security ties    Rafah Crossing 'never been closed for one day' from Egypt: PM    Egypt will keep pushing for Gaza peace, aid: PM    Remittances from Egyptians abroad surge 70% YoY in July–May: CBE    Sudan's ambassador to Egypt holds reconstruction talks on with Arab League    Egypt's current account gap narrows, but overall BoP records deficit    Al-Sisi urges accelerated oil, gas discoveries, lower import bill    Egypt hosts international neurosurgery conference to drive medical innovation    Egypt's EDA discusses Johnson & Johnson's plans to expand investment in local pharmaceutical sector    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Sisi calls for boosting oil & gas investment to ease import burden    EGX to close Thursday for July 23 Revolution holiday    Egypt, Senegal sign pharma MoU to unify regulatory standards    Egyptian Drug Authority discusses plans for joint pharmaceutical plant in Zambia    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt, Somalia discuss closer environmental cooperation    Egypt foils terrorist plot, kills two militants linked to Hasm group    Giza Pyramids' interior lighting updated with new LED system    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Korea Culture Week in Egypt to blend K-Pop with traditional arts    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Syrian rebels plead for help as army bombards strategic Qusair
Published in Ahram Online on 30 - 05 - 2013

Syria's opposition issues urgent appeal for rescue of hundreds of civilians from Qusair on the Syrian border as battle between government troops, Hizbullah fighters and rebel forces continues over the town
Syrian rebels pleaded for military and medical aid in the embattled border town of Qusair Thursday, saying they were unable to evacuate hundreds of wounded under an onslaught from government forces backed by Lebanese Hizbullah fighters.
President Bashar Al-Assad launched an offensive to capture Qusair two weeks ago in what many see as a bid to cement hold on territory from the capital Damascus up to his Alawite community heartland on the Mediterranean coast.
"We have 700 people wounded in Qusair and 100 of them are being given oxygen. The town is surrounded and there's no way to bring in medical aid," said Malek Ammar, an opposition activist in the besieged town.
Rebels in Qusair sent out an appeal for support using social media outlets, saying the town near the Syrian-Lebanese border — straddling supply lines critical to both sides in Syria's civil war —could be devastated.
"If all rebel fronts do not move to stop this crime being led by Hizbullah and Assad's traitorous army of dogs ... we will soon be saying that there was once a city called Qusair," the statement said.
Syria's two-year-old conflict began as a peaceful protest movement but evolved into an armed insurrection after a violent security crackdown on demonstrators. More than 80,000 people have been killed and the violence is now stoking political and sectarian tensions in neighbouring countries.
Shia Muslim Hizbullah is believed to have committed hundreds of guerrilla fighters, many of them with battle experience from a 2006 war with Israel, to help its ally Al-Assad secure Qusair.
Fighters in Qusair said they were hearing at least 50 shells crashing every hour. Hizbullah and Syrian government forces appeared to be advancing more quickly after seizing nearby Dabaa Air Base Wednesday.
The Qusair fighting has intensified already simmering sectarian tensions. The rebels are mostly from Syria's Sunni Muslim majority, while minorities have largely backed Al-Assad, himself from the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam.
Rebel units from different parts of Syria have said for days that they have sent fighters to support the opposition in Qusair, but rebels inside say none have made it into the town.
YouTube videos published by several units suggest some brigades have arrived around the outskirts of Qusair, a town of 30,000, but not advanced further.
Ahmad Bakar, a doctor in a hospital near Qusair, posted on appeal on Facebook for rebels to rush to help.
"We need immediate intervention from outside battalions. I swear to God, no supplies have gotten through to us and we need a route to be opened to evacuate the wounded and civilians."
Thousands of civilians are believed to have fled Qusair before the offensive began. Al-Assad's forces distributed leaflets by plane saying they would be attacking the town.
Some activists estimate Qusair's civilian population was about 20,000 when the offensive began.
"What we need them to do is come to the outskirts of the city and attack the checkpoints so we can get routes in and out of the city. Most of Qusair is surrounded," said activist Ammar, speaking by Skype from the town.
Among those who have come to try to help Qusair are fighters from radical Sunni Islamist groups such as Ahrar Al-Sham and Jabhat Al-Nusra, which is linked to Al-Qaeda.
Sunni rebel groups have threatened to commit sectarian revenge massacres in Shia and Alawite towns both in Lebanon and Syria in retaliation for Hizbullah's participation in the Qusair attack. They see war-hardened Hizbullah as critical to Al-Assad's battlefield strength.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/72726.aspx


Clic here to read the story from its source.