2013-05-20 08:55:24

Syrian troops take rebel-held Qusair


(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.

Listen to the report by Laura Ieraci: RealAudioMP3








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