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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Hezbollah, Iraqi fighters take up position in Syria |
| 2013-06-04 |
| Syrian rebels outside Damascus said Tuesday that thousands of Hezbollah and Iraqi fighters are massing on the outskirts of the capital in what appears to be a prelude to a large-scale ground invasion against towns they have held for months. "Planes are dropping off fully armed fighters from Hezbollah and the Iraqi Fadl Brigades," said opposition activist Abu Yasser. Hezbollah is a Lebanese-based terrorist group; the Fadl Brigades are Iranian-trained Shiite Muslim militants from Iraq. Both groups are likely destined for the fight in al-Qusayr, a town near the Lebanese border that is at the center of the rebels' supply routes for ammo and fighters, Yasser said. The rebels have held the town for more than a year and have been defending their position against the Syrian military for weeks. "People are concerned over a large-scale massacre once they capture al-Qusayr," he said. Rebels based in the Damascus suburb of East Ghouta, the bread basket of the capital, have seen an influx of hundreds of thousands of Syrians fleeing the fighting, according to Yasser and other activists. Analysts say Hezbollah has been fighting for Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in Homs, Aleppo and al-Qusayr but believe the scope of Hezbollah's involvement is exaggerated. "We have heard reports that (Hezbollah) have forces in Aleppo, so it seems to me that the numbers are too high â?? these numbers don't tally with the actual capacity of Hezbollah," said Fawaz Gerges, director of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics. "Still, make no mistake about it, Hezbollah is in it for the long haul â?¦ until victory," he added. |
| Posted by:tipper |