By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:
Al Qusayr has been retaken by the Assad regime with the help of Hezbollah. It took a few days of fighting, but now all the mines have been cleared and the fighting has stopped. The city had a population of about 40,000 people before the fighting erupted two years ago.
Al Qusayr is in south western Syria, about 35 miles from Homs and right on the border of the northern border of Lebanon. It is an extremely important city strategically speaking.
Al Qusayr has always been composed of Sunnis, Alawites and Christians. Before the revolt the majority were Sunnis with a large minority of Christians and some small handful of Alawites.
The largest chariot on chariot battle in history took place in Al Qusayr (then called Qadesh) in 1274 BCE between the Egyptians under Ramesses II and the Hittites.
From the beginning of this rebellion the rebels controlled Al Qusayr. They brutalized and publicly executed people who were thought to be informants. The city was the epicenter for many defectors from the Syrian army and it actually had a defector tank in its rebel armory.
Until yesterday, the Assad regime had repeatedly failed in trying to recapture the city. Assad won the city back because, this time around, most of the fighting was done by Hezbollah.
Micah@MicahHalpern.com
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