Syrian rebels were bracing yesterday for a fresh assault in al-Qusayr by the Syrian army and its Hezbollah allies, after fierce fighting the previous day in the north of the town, a watchdog said.
Fears of another attack renewed concerns about the fate of the civilians trapped there, who include an estimated 1,500 wounded, according to the UN.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on both sides to allow civilians to leave, and the organization’s rights chief and relief coordinator called for a ceasefire so they could do so.
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman told reporters on Saturday that “there are ongoing clashes in northern [al-]Qusayr, and the opposition fighters are fighting with everything they’ve got.”
Regime forces are reinforcing the sites that they have north of the city, including Dabaa airport and Jawadiya,” he added.
The group said at least 15 tanks were massed north of al-Qusayr, a key prize for both the regime and the rebels as it links Damascus to the coast, and is near the Lebanese border, providing a key rebel conduit for weapons and fighters.
The Syrian opposition said on Friday last week that rebel reinforcements had now reached the area.
However, there were growing fears for the thousands of civilians trapped in the battle for the town, which has raged for nearly two weeks.
Abdel Rahman said about 1,000 wounded people were trapped inside al-Qusayr.
However, a joint statement by UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said: “We understand there may also be as many as 1,500 wounded people in urgent need of immediate evacuation for emergency medical treatment, and that the general situation in al-Qusayr is desperate.”
They were “extremely alarmed” by reports that civilian neighborhoods were under fire, they added.
“We urge the parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire to allow humanitarian agencies to evacuate the wounded and provide life-saving treatment and supplies,” they said.
In New York, Ban urged “all sides to do their utmost to avoid civilian casualties,” UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said in a statement.
Ban also called on all sides to help trapped civilians escape the town.
The opposition Syrian National Coalition saluted rebels in al-Qusayr.
“The people will continue their struggle to liberate their land, whatever it takes, and will force Hezbollah to withdraw its forces from all of Syria,” it said.
The powerful Lebanese Shiite group, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, has sent thousands of fighters to help put down the uprising that began more than two years ago with peaceful protests.
Several members of Lebanon’s Sunni Muslim community have also crossed the border to fight alongside the Sunni-led rebels, encouraged by local clerics.
Late on Friday, influential Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi urged Sunnis to follow suit and join the uprising.
“Every Muslim trained to fight and capable of doing that [must] make himself available” to support the Syrian rebels, he said at a rally.
“Iran is pushing forward arms and men [to back the Syrian regime], so why do we stand idle?” said Qaradawi, a controversial figure who has millions of supporters, mostly from the Muslim Brotherhood.
Meanwhile, a car bombing in Damascus yesterday killed at least nine members of the security forces, the Observatory said.
It said the explosion, in the east of the capital, appeared to have been carried out by the extremist al-Nusra Front, which is allied with al-Qaeda, although there was no immediate confirmation.
In Lebanon, security sources said two rockets fired from Syria landed in a border area, and Israeli warplanes could be heard flying low over several parts of the country.
Elsewhere in the capital, regime forces shelled the al-Hajar al-Aswad, Assali and Qaddam neighborhoods in the south and southwest of the city overnight, the Observatory said.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS