Battle of al-Qusayr (2013)
2013 military operation / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The second of two battles in al-Qusayr started on 19 May 2013, as part of the larger al-Qusayr offensive, launched in early April 2013 by the Syrian Army and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, during the Syrian civil war,[24] with the aim of capturing the villages around the rebel-held town of al-Qusayr and ultimately launching an attack on the town itself.[25] The region was strategically important as a supply route for rebels fighting Syrian government forces in Homs[26] and also for the Syrian government, as it lies between the capital, Damascus, and the Syrian coast, a stronghold for Assad supporters.[27]
Battle of al-Qusayr (2013) | |||||||
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Part of the Syrian civil war and the Al-Qusayr offensive | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Free Syrian Army |
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Lt. Col. Mohieddin al-Zain (al-Qusayr military council)[4] Abu Omar †[citation needed] (top Al-Nusra Front commander) Abdul Qader Saleh (WIA) (Al-Tawhid Brigade commander)[5] Mahmoud Mohammed Ammar †[6] (Al Mughaouirs Brigade commander) Bilal Idris †[citation needed] (Farouq Battalion commander) Nawaf Alwani †[7] (Al Nusra Front commander) Bakr Saleh Mustapha †[8] (Kassioune Brigade commander) Abul-Baraa (al-Nusra front 'Emir')[4] |
Abu Jihad (Hezbollah commander)[9] Fadi al-Jazar † (Hezbollah commander)[10] Mustafa Badreddine | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
15 rebel units[11] |
1st Armoured Division 10th Mechanised Division Unit 910 (Hezbollah) | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
1,900 fighters[12] |
5,000–6,000 soldiers and militiamen,[13] 1,700[14]–2,000[13] Hezbollah fighters | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
431[15]–500+[12] killed, 1,000 wounded[12] (opposition claim) 1,257 killed, 1,192 wounded, 1,000 captured (government claim)[16] | 114 Hezbollah fighters,[17] 23 soldiers and militiamen[18][19] and 8 Iranian officers killed,[20] 200 Hezbollah fighters wounded[21] | ||||||
47 civilians killed[22] and 500 wounded[23] |
Prior to the offensive, the Syrian Air Force dropped leaflets over the town warning that government forces were going to attack the city. This led to thousands of civilians fleeing,[28] though 25,000 residents stayed.[14] Free Syrian Army (FSA) General Salim Idris warned of a "massacre" if the Syrian Army and Hezbollah were to take the town.[29]
During the final days of the battle Hezbollah forces and rebels negotiated a withdrawal plan, in which the rebels and civilians could evacuate the town through a narrow corridor without being attacked.[30] On 5 June, after two weeks of fighting, the Syrian Army and Hezbollah regained control of al-Qusayr as the last rebel contingents retreated.[31] One observer described the battle as the "defining battle of the country's civil war."[32]