Syrian rebels call for Qusayr reinforcements ahead of conference

Source : Al Akhbar English

Syria's main opposition alliance on Wednesday urged fighters to come from around the country to reinforce Qusayr against attempts by President Bashar al-Assad's troops and supporters to gain control of the rebel-held town.

The appeal came as Syrian government forces battled for the fourth straight day trying to wrest control of the western town of Qusayr from the rebels. The town lies along a strategic land corridor linking the capital, Damascus, with the Mediterranean coast.

"Forces from outside Syria" aim to destroy Qusayr and rebels should join the fight to "rescue" the town, George Sabra, the acting chief of the Syrian National Coalition, said in a statement.

A local government official from the Homs governor's office told The Associated Press on Wednesday that about 80 percent of the town was in government hands. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to give information to the media during an ongoing military operation.

He added that Assad's troops had discovered tunnels linking areas around the town, adding that the fighting is now concentrated in the northwestern parts of Qusayr where the "terrorists" – the phrase the Syrian government uses for opposition fighters – were still entrenched. The official's account could not be independently verified because Damascus bans independent media access to much of the country.

In Lebanon, dozens of supporters of Salafi sheikh Ahmad al-Assir on Wednesday blocked the road leading to a cemetery in the southern city of Saida to prevent the burial of a Hezbollah fighter who died recently in Qusayr.

The standoff, which lasted over an hour, was the latest sign of rising tensions in Lebanon because of the growing involvement by disparate Lebanese groups on opposing sides of the Syrian civil war. The conflict in Syria has killed more than 80,000 people, according to United Nations, and has often spilled across Syria's borders.

Also on Wednesday, an international group known as the Friends of Syria is due to meet in Amman, Jordan. The closed-door meeting among diplomats from nations that back the Syrian uprising is aimed at preparing for UN-hosted international talks expected to be held in Geneva next month.

Top diplomats from Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United States are attending the meeting.

The Syrian ambassador to Jordan lashed out on Wednesday at the meeting, describing it as a gathering of "enemies of Syria".

"It is a meeting of Syria's enemies, or friends of Israel," Bahjat Suleiman said in a rare news conference hours before the "Friends of Syria" group meets in Amman to discuss the US-Russian proposal for peace talks.

"Those who want to end the tragedy in Syria need to stop arming and training terrorist gangs in Syria. The war on Syria is unprecedented."

Suleiman castigated Arab nations for attending the Amman meeting, saying they are aiding Washington in its "aggressive, terrorist war, on behalf of Israel, to destroy Syria."