Rebels Battle Hizbullah-backed Syrian Troops at Qusair

Fierce fighting raged in and around Qusair, a town located a short distance from the border with Lebanon, over the weekend, as forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad backed by fighters from the Lebanon-based Hizbullah terrorist organization sought to take the strategic target from the rebels. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at least 22 deaths on the rebel side and heavy injuries. Regime troops were backed by artillery and tanks in their quest to divide the opposition between north and south and secure the route to the Mediterranean. Momentum appears to be with Assad’s troops, but the casualty figures are said to be high on both sides. The majority of Qusair has reportedly fallen to the army. Meanwhile, in Lebanon, a fiery-speech by Hizbullah head Sheikh Na’srallah averring his support for Assad was followed by a rocket attack in a Hizbullah-controlled neighborhood of Beirut. Two rockets landed in the neighborhood on Sunday morning causing several injuries but no deaths.