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Syria Says Its Forces Retake Key Town Syria Says Its Forces Retake Key Town
(about 2 hours later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian government forces and Hezbollah guerrillas took control of most of the strategic crossroads town of Qusayr early on Wednesday, in a painful defeat for outgunned rebels that gave new momentum to the forces of President Bashar al-Assad and was likely to further dampen prospects for peace negotiations planned for this month. BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian government forces and their allies in Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, seized most of the strategic crossroads town of Qusayr early on Wednesday, a painful defeat for outgunned Syria rebels and an advance for President Bashar al-Assad. If it sticks, the military gain could infuse his forces with momentum and embolden him to push for military victory just as Russia and the United States are pressing the combatants to negotiate.
Syrian state media broadcast pictures of government forces raising flags over wrecked buildings as the rebels declared they had withdrawn from the city. The government’s triumphal advance into Qusayr also suggested that the intervention on Mr. Assad’s side by Hezbollah had proved decisive as its fighters besieged, then stormed, a rebel stronghold that the Syrian military had bombarded in vain for months.
The rebels, who had held the city for more than a year, fought on for more than two weeks — longer than expected — against a far larger force and inflicted unaccustomed casualties on Hezbollah’s seasoned fighters, many of whom were buried around Lebanon. But the intervention also carries big political risks for Hezbollah, which has historically been revered in Syria for its opposition to Israel but is now seen as a sectarian-driven occupying force by Mr. Assad’s insurgent enemies, who are mostly Sunni. Hezbollah has said it intervened in Syria to protect neighboring Lebanon from Islamist extremists.
But the situation inside Qusayr had grown desperate. Ammunition was running out, rebel reinforcements were unable to penetrate the government cordon around the city and with medical supplies dwindling, hundreds of wounded people could not be evacuated as Hezbollah fighters assaulted the city backed by heavy government airstrikes and artillery bombardment. The government claimed victory in Qusayr, broadcasting pictures of soldiers raising flags over wrecked buildings as the rebels said they had withdrawn from much of the town. At the same time, senior American, Russian and United Nations officials convened in Geneva to try to find enough common ground among themselves and the Syrian combatants to hold talks to halt the carnage and work toward a political transition.
The retreat apparently followed an intervention by the United Nations, which had expressed concern about a humanitarian crisis in the city, especially after the government and Hezbollah refused to allow Red Crescent humanitarian workers into the city before the end of military operations. By late afternoon, the sides had failed to agree even on who would attend the conference, and officials said they would adjourn and try again on June 25. Lakhdar Brahimi, the special United Nations representative on Syria, told reporters that “evidently, there is still a lot of work to do.”
A member of the Syrian National Coalition, the main exile opposition group, said on condition of anonymity that after mediation by the Lebanese politician Walid Jumblatt, United Nations officials relayed a message that Mr. Assad had agreed to allow the wounded to leave on condition that “armed gangs” leave Qusayr and hand over the city. With the Syrian opposition’s political leaders disunited and the government defiant, expectations remained low for any talks aimed at halting the conflict, which is more than two years old and has left an estimated 80,000 people dead.
Quoting a Syrian security source, Reuters reported that the military and Hezbollah had left open a corridor allowing rebels to withdraw to the nearby village of Daba’a and toward the Lebanese border. Rebels in Daba’a and other villages near Qusayr remain dug in, using tunnels and storing food and supplies in underground command rooms that were seen by a reporter who recently visited the area. The Geneva meeting was also overshadowed by statements from France and Britain over the past day that sarin nerve gas had been used in Syria. The statements confronted American officials with the possibility that Mr. Assad’s government had crossed what President Obama has called a “red line” that could prompt American intervention — an option for which the administration has shown waning enthusiasm. However, a cabinet shuffle on Wednesday appeared to give new prominence to advocates of a more active American role, if not of direct military intervention.
The battle fit a pattern in which rebels hang on until the last minute and then announce a tactical withdrawal. Syrian forces have sometimes been unable to hold reclaimed territory. Rebels said some fighters were still in the city and Syrian state media said the military was sweeping the northern portion of Qusayr for militants. A day after France announced that French laboratory tests had confirmed that sarin gas had been used “multiple times” in Syria “in a localized way,” Britain on Wednesday repeated an earlier assessment that “a growing body of limited but persuasive information” pointed to the use of the same toxin.
The battle — the largest and most public intervention yet by Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant group allied with Mr. Assad — increased tensions throughout the region, pitting Hezbollah against mostly Sunni rebels from Qusayr as well as jihadists from Lebanon and other countries who had joined the battle. French and British officials did not make public the details of the evidence on which their assessments were based. The French statements said there was “no doubt” the government or its accomplices were behind the alleged use of the gas in at least one case, based on samples of bodily fluids from victims, including urine samples brought out of Syria by French journalists. British statements were more cautious, saying “the room for doubt” about the use of sarin “continues to diminish” and that the use was “very likely” by the government.
Fighters and civilians around Qusayr used increasingly sectarian language during the battle, vowing revenge on Shiites in general and Hezbollah in particular. Hezbollah-controlled residential areas inside Lebanon were rocketed in attacks blamed on Syrian rebels or their Lebanese Sunni supporters, who also increased their attacks on Alawite supporters of Mr. Assad in the northern Lebanese city Tripoli. In Qusayr, further underscoring the volatility of the conflict, rebels and anti-government activists said their fighters would battle on in surrounding villages and in the northern part of the town, where they are most deeply entrenched. Syria state media acknowledged that the fight was not completely over, saying the military was still sweeping northern Qusayr for militants.
Sunni clerics issued decrees calling on their followers to rush to Qusayr to help, but the call proved more rhetoric than reality. Fighters and activists in Qusayr expressed confusion and despair on Wednesday. Rebels have prepared for more than a year to defend the area, using tunnels and storing food and supplies in underground command rooms that were seen by a reporter who recently visited villages close to the town, including the village of Daba’a. Reuters, quoting a Syrian security official, reported that the military and Hezbollah had left open corridors allowing rebels to withdraw toward Daba’a.
“What happened to all the fighters who were on their way to Qusayr to support us?” said Ammar, an antigovernment activist who used only his first name for safety. The rebels, who had held Qusayr for more than a year, fought for more than two weeks — longer than expected — against intense assaults by a far larger force and inflicted unaccustomed casualties on Hezbollah’s seasoned fighters, many of whom were honored as martyrs in funeral ceremonies around Lebanon.
Another activist, Jad al-Yamani, who lost his brother in the battle, said from outskirts of the city, “Now I lost everything. I can no more return back to my town.” But the situation inside Qusayr had grown desperate. Ammunition was running out. Rebel reinforcements were fewer than expected and many were unable to penetrate the government cordon around the city. With medical supplies dwindling, hundreds of wounded people could not be evacuated as Hezbollah fighters assaulted the city backed by heavy government airstrikes and artillery bombardment.
Rebels said they had managed to evacuate some of the wounded, although there were fears of reprisals against those who remained.
“Yes my brothers, it is one round that we lost,” the Qusayr Coordinating Committee, an antigovernment group inside the town, said in a posting on its Facebook page. “But war is a drawn out competition.”
Syrian media and military officers portrayed the development as a possible turning point in the conflict.Syrian media and military officers portrayed the development as a possible turning point in the conflict.
“He who controls Qusayr controls the center of the country and he who controls the center of the country controls the whole of Syria,” said Brig. Gen. Yahya Suleiman, speaking to the Beirut-based Mayadeen television. “He who controls Qusayr controls the center of the country, and he who controls the center of the country controls the whole of Syria,” said Brig. Gen. Yahya Suleiman, speaking to Beirut-based Mayadeen television.
But rebels and opposition activists vowed to fight on. They said they had managed to evacuate some of the wounded, although there were fears of reprisals against those who remained. The battle fit a pattern in which rebels hang on until the last minute and then announce a tactical withdrawal. Syrian forces have sometimes been unable to hold reclaimed territory, such as in rebel strongholds in the city of Homs and the Damascus suburbs.
“Yes my brothers, it is one round that we lost,” the Qusayr Coordinating Committee, an antigovernment group inside the city, posted on its Facebook page. “But war is a drawn out competition.” And if Hezbollah’s fighters try to hold Qusayr — which has taken on a heavy symbolic significance for rebels — they will be in an incongruous role, effectively occupying territory in Syria, a country where they were long revered for driving out Israel’s 15-year occupation of southern Lebanon.
It added that some fighters had remained behind to ensure the safety of civilians and wounded, saying, “We ask God to bless those militants who vowed to die on the soil of beloved Qusayr.” A Syrian opposition figure said the rebel retreat followed an intervention by the United Nations, which had expressed concern about a humanitarian crisis in Qusayr, especially after the government and Hezbollah fighters had refused to allow Red Crescent humanitarian workers to enter and treat wounded civilians.

Hwaida Saad and Hania Mourtada contributed reporting from Beirut, Lebanon, and an employee of The New York Times from Daba’a, Syria.

A member of the Syrian National Coalition, the main exile opposition group, said on condition of anonymity that after mediation by the Lebanese politician Walid Jumblatt, United Nations officials relayed a message that Mr. Assad had agreed to allow the wounded to leave on the condition that “armed gangs” leave Qusayr.
The battle — the largest and most public intervention yet in Syria by Hezbollah — increased tensions throughout the region, pitting Hezbollah against mostly Sunni rebels from Qusayr as well as Sunni jihadists from Lebanon and other countries who had joined the battle.
Fighters and civilians around Qusayr used increasingly sectarian language during the battle, vowing revenge on Shiites in general and Hezbollah in particular. Hezbollah-controlled residential areas inside Lebanon were rocketed in attacks attributed to Syrian rebels or their Lebanese Sunni supporters, who also increased their attacks on Alawite supporters of Mr. Assad in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.
Sunni clerics issued decrees calling on their followers to rush to Qusayr to help, but the call proved more rhetoric than reality. Fighters and activists in Qusayr issued anguished statements of confusion and despair on Wednesday.
“What happened to all the fighters who were on their way to Qusayr to support us?” said Ammar, an antigovernment activist who used only his first name for safety.
Another activist, Jad al-Yamani, who lost his brother in the battle, said from the outskirts of the city, “Now I lost everything. I cannot return to my town anymore.”
One man in a video posted by opposition activists said, “We are being exterminated by the Shiites,” and shouted sarcastically, “Let all Arabs be happy and let all Muslims be happy! Qusayr is gone today. So be happy and sing and celebrate!”
Another video showed a well-known opposition activist in Qusayr, Hadi Abdullah, amid a chaotic scene of patients being loaded onto trucks. One man with a gray beard began to cry as he said, “We are dying slowly. Everyone was martyred here and all that’s left is us.”
In the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, signs appeared saying “Qusayr falls” as people distributed candy and celebrated.
Some rebels said they were bracing to fight Hezbollah if it pushed on to the northern city of Aleppo — a city even farther outside Hezbollah’s traditional sphere of strategic interest than Qusayr.
Abu al-Haytham, an opposition activist affiliated with a rebel group in Aleppo, said that government forces had flown in Hezbollah and government soldiers by helicopter in recent days to Shiite villages near the city that rebels have been attacking.
Though the claims could not be confirmed, the fact that Syrian rebels considered such an attack a possibility from Hezbollah, a group traditionally revered by Syrians of all sects for its fight against Israel, underscored the surprising turns the conflict has taken in recent weeks, as Hezbollah’s involvement heightened the sectarian tone of the combatants and threatened to spread fighting to Lebanon.
“I’m going to be honest with you, the battle will be transferred to Lebanon very soon,” Abu Haytham said. " It’s sectarian now.”

Reporting was contributed by Hwaida Saad and Hania Mourtada  from Beirut, Nick Cumming-Bruce from Geneva, an employee of The New York Times from Daba’a, Syria, Alan Cowell from London, Steven Erlanger from Paris and Rick Gladstone from New York.