(Vatican Radio) Syrian forces launched a major offensive on Sunday on the rebel-held
town of Qusair, near the Lebanese border.
Fifty-two people were killed, including
48 fighters, three women and a male civilian.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights says the Syrian government’s shelling and air raids on Qusair on
Sunday left more than 50 dead. About 20 houses were also destroyed, and a field hospital
damaged last week left the only medical centre in town unable to handle all of the
400 wounded.
Qusair lies between Damascus and the Mediterranean coast. Many
rebel fighters are Sunni Muslims and the majority-Sunni town of Qusair had been serving
as a conduit for shipments of weapons and supplies, smuggled from Lebanon.
While
the rebels control large rural areas in Syria’s north and east, Syrian troops have
held control of Damascus, the coastal area and parts of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.
Before
Sunday's offensive, Qusair had been ringed for several weeks by Syrian troops and
fighters from the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, allies with the Syrian government.
In
the meantime, the international community is looking ahead to a conference on bringing
an end to Syria’s 26-month-old bloody conflict. Key parties include the United States,
Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China.
United Nation Secretary General
Ban Ki-Moon said the meeting could possibly take place in early June.
Despite
its stated commitment to peace, Russia reportedly delivered anti-ship cruise missiles
to Syria last week. Russia is a key ally and arms supplier of the Syrian regime, along
with Iran.
The UN said last week the death toll in Syria has reached at least
80,000 since the conflict began in March 2011.