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| Computer screen for remote-controlled sniper rifle (top) and a hand portable Bgan terminal (below) |
The Lebanese daily al-Akhbar -- which speaks for the “Axis of Resistance” grouping the
Syrian regime, Hezbollah and Iran -- concedes today the fierce battle for
Qusayr will be long-drawn-out.
The Syrian army, backed by hundreds of Lebanese Hezbollah
militiamen, has been trying for nearly a week to regain control of Qusayr, a strategic
town in Homs province held
by rebels for over a year.
The
town is vital for both the Syrian regime and the Lebanese paramilitary group.
The city is a strategic link in the Syrian communications chain, connecting the
capital Damascus, Syria's Alawite-dominated coastal highlands, and Hezbollah's
heartland in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. The Lebanese border is only 10 kilometers
to the city's west, and the Damascus-Aleppo highway lies to its east.
Underlining
its importance, the Syrian National Coalition issued an impassioned
plea to supporters to send men and weapons to help defend Qusayr, where an
estimated 2,000 fighters and as many as 30,000 civilians endured a fourth day
of relentless air bombardment and tank shelling by government troops and their
Hezbollah allies yesterday.
George
Sabra, the acting head of the Syrian National
Coalition, also called on the international community to establish
a humanitarian corridor to help civilians and wounded trapped inside the town.
Also
overnight, the 11-nation core group of the
“Friends of Syria” alliance denounced Hezbollah operations in Qusayr and called
on Iran and Hezbollah to withdraw fighters immediately from Syrian territory, describing
their armed presence in the country as a threat to regional stability. (The Joint Statement of the Participating Countries in
the Amman Ministerial Meeting on Syria
is published in full below.)
In his
news feature for today’s edition of al-Akhbar,
journalist Radwan Mortada explains why the battle for Qusayr will be
protracted.
Following
are edited excerpts from his piece:
Qusayr did
not fall.
Everyone
inside the town is unsure if better or worse days are ahead.
One side
recounts tales of “challenge and steadfastness.”
The other
side boasts of “advances on the ground and troops mopping up the last pockets
of resistance.”
Most of
the opposition’s armed rebels entrenched in Qusayr continue to move freely from
one hideout to another.
Power
supplies are cut off, but the rebels use power generators and communications
equipment to remain in touch with armed groups outside Qusayr, call in
reinforcements, relay news to the media, post videos online of the clashes and bombardments.
All the
rebels’ communications are via Bgan
(Broadband Global Area Network) portable satellites connected to laptops or
smartphones.
They also
use Inmarsat.
Opposition
sources tell al-Akhbar the rebels have set up a Military Command in which all
heads of brigades fighting in Qusayr are represented. They say Lt. Col.
Mohieddeen al-Zein (aka “Abu Arab”) heads the Command.
His key
aides include al-Farouq Brigade’s “Abu Ali” and Jabhat al-Nusra’s “Abul Baraa.”
The latter
believes the battle will be drawn out. He says, “War is trickery… We tricked
Assad troops and Hezbollah fighters to venture into some alleyways where
everything is booby-trapped, including homes, hideouts, shelters, trenches and
barricades… We got them there.”
But the
rebels also complain of shortages in medical facilities and supplies saying,
“The field hospital was totally destroyed. We have to carry the wounded on our
shoulders for treatment in homes.”
On the
opposite (Assad loyalists’) side, sources familiar with military operations in
Qusayr say, “The offensive was hampered by the enormous number of booby traps”
and “camouflaged cameras monitoring strategic positions and the main roads in
the area.”
The
sources also say the rebels deployed sophisticated “remote-controlled sniper
rifles” that use computer screens for monitoring, tracking and targeting.
Whereas
the sources expect the battle for Qusayr to be won within days, “hopefully before Hezbollah leader
Hassan Nasrallah’s speech on Saturday,” other information suggests “an
unqualified victory will need more time.”
Joint Statement of the Participating Countries in the
Amman Ministerial Meeting on Syria
The Prime Minister and
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar and the Foreign Ministers of Egypt,
France, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, U.A.E., U.K., USA and Jordan came
together in Amman on May 22nd 2013 to deliberate on the developments in Syria
and to reemphasize their support to find a political solution to the crisis in
Syria. The representatives from the leadership of the Syrian National Coalition
of the Revolutionary and Opposition Forces also attended part of the meeting,
and briefed the Ministers on the situation inside Syria.
The Ministers reviewed
their discussions in the Rome meeting of February 28th 2013, and recalled the
joint statement of Istanbul of April 20th 2013 that supports a political
solution in Syria on the basis of the Geneva Communiqué of June 30th 2012.
The Ministers supported
the participation in the Geneva meeting for the purpose of the full
implementation of the outcomes of the first Geneva meeting to end the
bloodshed, fulfill the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people, preserve
the territorial integrity of the country, and strengthen the national unity
amongst all components of the Syrian national fabric. The Ministers emphasized the
central role of the United Nations Security Council in the realization of this
effort.
The Ministers condemned
in the strongest terms the use of heavy weapons including ballistic missiles
against the people, and deplored the ethnic cleansing that the regime is
pursuing as seen recently in Banias, and declared that such crimes will not go
unpunished.
The Ministers stressed
that the political process to reflect positively and tangibly on the daily
lives of the Syrian civilian population, including the release of prisoners,
the delivery of humanitarian assistance and end the killing of civilians.
The Ministers
identified as the corner stone of a political solution the formation of a
transitional governing body through mutual consent, within a defined and agreed
upon timeframe, to assume full executive authority, including all powers of the
Presidency in addition to control over the armed forces and the security and
intelligence apparatuses, for an agreed upon and defined timeframe for the
transitional period. The Ministers affirmed that the final objective of the
transitional period should include the adoption of a new Syrian constitution
that guarantees the equal rights of all citizens.
The Ministers
underlined that the attainment of the political solution that meets the
aspirations of the Syrian people means, as stated in the Abu Dhabi joint
statement of the May 13th 2013, that Assad, his regime, and his close
associates with blood on their hands cannot play any role in the future of
Syria.
The Ministers reiterated
their support to the Syrian National Coalition of the Revolutionary and
Opposition Forces and welcomed the efforts by the Coalition to expand their
base of representation to include all components of Syrian society, and
emphasized the central and leading role of the Coalition in the opposition
delegation to the anticipated international conference on Syria. Furthermore,
the Ministers reiterated the right to self-defense of the Syrian people, and
committed to offer additional support to reinforce the role and capacity of the
Supreme Military Council (SMC).
The Ministers expressed
their strong concern over the increasing presence and growing radicalism on
both sides of the conflict and terrorist elements in Syria; a matter that
deepens the concerns for the future of Syria, threatens the security of
neighboring countries and risks destabilizing the wider region and the world.
The Ministers denounced
the intervention of foreign combatants fighting on behalf of the regime, and
consider their presence a flagrant intervention on Syrian territory and a
serious threat to regional stability. In this context, the Ministers stressed
in particular the operations conducted by Hezbollah in Qusayr and elsewhere and
called for the immediate withdrawal of Hezbollah, fighters from Iran, and other
regime allied foreign fighters from Syrian territory.
The Ministers expressed
their deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Syria, as
well as the threat they pose to the stability and security of neighboring
countries hosting Syrian refugees. They underlined the importance of cross
border humanitarian operations and called upon the international community to
support host countries to address the pressures arising from hosting refugees
based on the principles of burden sharing and to prevent any implications for
international peace and security.
The Ministers viewed
with extreme concern the growing number of reports and strong indications of
the use of chemical weapons by the regime in Syria. The Ministers emphasized
the importance of enabling the UN to conduct a comprehensive investigation
regarding the use of such weapons. The Ministers stressed that there will be
severe consequences if these reports are confirmed.
The Ministers also
emphasized that until such time as the Geneva meeting produces a transitional
government, they will further increase their support for the opposition and
take all other steps as necessary.
Finally,
the Ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation and coordination among
themselves and with international partners to ensure the successful convening
of the international conference leading to a political solution to the Syrian
crisis.
