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Syrian government forces and Hezbollah seize border town of Yabroud Lebanon struck by bombings after Syrian government forces seize rebel-held town
(about 1 hour later)
BEIRUT — Syria said its army took control of a key town on the Lebanese border on Sunday, racking up another strategic gain for the government as the conflict enters its fourth year. BEIRUT — Lebanon was struck by a retaliatory car bombing on Sunday, just hours after its Hezbollah militants helped Syrian army troops seize a key town across the border, highlighting the increasing security risk to Syria’s smaller neighbor.
Syrian troops, backed by fighters from the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, have been tightening their noose on Yabroud, a town just a few miles from the border, for months. Syrian army forces, backed by troops from the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, faced little resistance as they swept into the center of the town of Yabroud, just a few miles over the Lebanese border, leading rebels to trade accusations that some factions had negotiated a withdrawal.
The battle for Yabroud is part of a wider Syrian army and Hezbollah offensive to secure the rugged border area of Qalamoun, cutting rebel supply lines into Syria. The fall of the area’s main town strikes a blow to rebel morale as, after three grinding years of conflict, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad steadily makes gains. The Syrian army and Hezbollah have been tightening their noose on the Yaboud for months, part of a wider offensive to secure the rugged border area of Qalamoun, cutting rebel supply lines into Syria.
A little more than 24 hours after pro-government forces entered the town Friday night, the official Syrian Arab News Agency said that “terrorist groups” in the town had been “devastated” and that the area was being combed for explosives. A little over 24 hours after its forces first entered the town on Friday night, the Syrian state news agency, SANA, said that “terrorist groups” in the town had been “devastated” and that government forces were combing the area for explosives. Some clashes were still reported in the town as militants from the al-Qaeda linked Jabhat al-Nusra fought on.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese army said Syrian warplanes had strafed Lebanese territory as they pursued gunmen who had fled across the border, risking further destabilization in Lebanon. The fall of the area’s main town will likely strike a blow to rebel morale as, after three grinding years of conflict, Assad steadily makes gains.
Despite the assertions of a government victory, Islam Alloush, a spokesman for the Islamic Front, an amalgamation of seven Islamist rebel groups, said his fighters and militants from the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra were still engaged in clashes in Yabroud, repelling attempts by pro-government forces to enter. He said four Hezbollah fighters were killed. Col. Said Swaid, a rebel commander, said he left Yabroud at dawn after several rebel battalions “suddenly pulled out causing panic and fear.” He said a deal had been struck with Syrian government forces.
Activists said government forces were in control of the majority of the town, although rebel-held pockets remained. “I saw the betrayal with my own eyes,” he said. “Rebels walking with the regime army”.
Hezbollah’s television channel, al-Manar, on Sunday broadcast footage of what it said was Yabroud’s town center. Men in fatigues raised a Syrian flag on a pole in the middle of the street, while another held aloft a portrait of Assad. Hezbollah has claimed the operation to take Yabroud, which it says is the source of explosive-packed vehicles that have exploded in Beirut, will help secure Lebanon.
On Syrian state television, an unnamed government soldier said the seizure of the town was important because it secured the Lebanon-Syria border regions and cut off rebels’ supply routes. However, within hours of Yabroud’s fall on Sunday, the Shiite town of Nabi Othman in Lebanon’s Bekaa valley was struck by a suicide bombing.
Hezbollah and Lebanese officials have said that the Syrian town is the source of several explosives-packed vehicles that have struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in recent months. At least four people died, according to Hezbollah’s television channel Al Manar.
The sprawling suburbs of Beirut, a base of support for Hezbollah, have been hit by regular car bombs in retaliation for the movement’s backing of Assad. Celebratory gunfire could be heard Sunday in the Lebanese capital after reports of Yabroud’s capture. Earlier in the day, Al Manar had broadcast celebratory scenes from what it said was Yabroud’s town center Sunday. Men in fatigues raised a Syrian flag on a pole in the middle of the street, while another held aloft a portrait of Assad.
The Qalamoun offensive has sent a new wave of refugees fleeing into Lebanon. For most of the civil war, Yabroud had been largely sheltered from the fighting that has engulfed Syria, the town’s population of about 60,000 swelling with the internally displaced. Celebratory gunfire and fireworks could be heard from the southern suburbs of Beirut, a base of support for Hezbollah, where regular car bombs have struck in retaliation for the movement’s backing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The offensive in the area drew fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra, activists said, and some remained in the town Sunday. Most, however, retreated to nearby Flita and Rankous, the activists said. A senior Jabhat al-Nusra commander was killed on the outskirts of the town Friday as the army and Hezbollah pushed into the city limits for the first time. The mood darkened with Sunday night’s bombing, the eighth suicide attack in Lebanon this year, which drove home the ability of extremist groups to continue their activities. Jabhat al-Nusra claimed responsibility, saying the attack was in response to Hezbollah’s activities in Yabroud.
Later Sunday, the Syrian air force fired rockets on Lebanese territory as some rebels retreated across the border, said residents of the Lebanese border town of Arsal. The Lebanese army said Syrian planes carried out two raids east of the town, where the Lebanese state has little control. It rubbished another claim from a group calling itself the Ahrar al-Sunna of Baalbek.
Fifty casualties from Yabroud were brought to Arsal for treatment, said Kassem Zain, a doctor who runs a field hospital in the town. Eight people died, he said. Swaid, the rebel commander, said only Nusra had stayed to fight in Yabroud on Sunday. In an unverified statement circulated online, Abdullah Azzam al-Shami, a spokesman for Nusra in Qalamoun, said Yabroud had been “delivered” to the Syrian government and Hezbollah after rebel leaders decided to withdraw.
Rebels have complained that promised weapons deliveries have not materialized but vow to keep fighting for the town and its surroundings. Islam Alloush, a spokesman for the Islamic Front, an amalgamation of seven Islamist rebel groups, also said his fighters were also still engaged in clashes in Yabroud on Sunday, repelling attempts by pro-government forces to enter. He said four Hezbollah fighters had been killed.
“The battle for Qalamoun does not end with Yabroud,” said Bassel Foaad, a Qalamoun-based activist who had sought refuge in Arsal. Others rebels fled to the nearby towns of Rankous and Flita, or on to Lebanon. Fifty casualties from Yabroud were brought over the border to Arsal for treatment, said Dr Kassem Zain, who runs a field hospital in the town. Eight people died, he said.
Suzan Haidamous contributed to this report. For most of the civil war, Yabroud had been largely sheltered from the fighting that has engulfed Syria, its population swelling with the internally displaced. The offensive has sent a new wave of refugees fleeing into Lebanon.