Al-Qusayr offensive

Al-Qusayr offensive
Part of the Syrian civil war

Map showing the offensive
Date4 April – 8 June 2013
(2 months and 4 days)
Location
Result Decisive Syrian Army & Hezbollah victory[3]
Territorial
changes
  • Syrian Army and Hezbollah capture all villages around al-Qusayr[3]
  • Lebanon–Syria border comes under the control of the Syrian government and Hezbollah[4]
  • Syrian Army and Hezbollah capture Al-Qusayr[5]
Belligerents

Syrian opposition Free Syrian Army
Syrian Islamic Liberation Front
Syrian Islamic Front

Al-Nusra Front

Syria Syrian Arab Republic

Hezbollah
Supported by:

Commanders and leaders
Lt. Col. Mohieddin al-Zain
(al-Qusayr military council)[6]
Abdul Qader Saleh (WIA)
(Al-Tawhid Brigade commander)[7]

Abu Jihad
(Hezbollah commander)[8]
Fadi al-Jazar 
(Hezbollah commander)[9]

Units involved

15 rebel units[11]

1st Armoured Division
10th Mechanized Division
Unit 910 (Hezbollah)
Strength
1,900 fighters[12] 5,000–6,000 soldiers and militia,[13]
1,700[14]–2,000[13] Hezbollah fighters
40 tanks
Casualties and losses
740–809 killed[12][15][16] 330 killed[15] (140 Hezbollah)[17]

The al-Qusayr offensive was an operation by the Syrian Government forces against Opposition forces at al-Qusayr in Homs province, during the Syrian Civil War. The operation was launched on 4 April 2013. The Syrian Army, the Lebanese militia Hezbollah and the National Defense Forces played key roles in the attack.[18][19] Its aim was to capture all villages around the rebel-held town of al-Qusayr, thus tightening the siege of the city and ultimately launching an attack on al-Qusayr itself.[20] The region was an important supply route for rebels fighting Syrian government forces in Homs.[21]

  1. ^ "Syria: National Defense Forces at Forefront of Qusayr Fighting". Archived from the original on 27 May 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  2. ^ "The Counter-Insurgency Role of Syria's "Popular Committees"". Fair Observer. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference final was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Iran Counters Saudi Diplomacy In Lebanon". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  5. ^ "Syrian army captures strategic border town of Qusair". Reuters. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Syria: Opposition's Booby Trap Blueprint for Qusayr". Al Akhbar English. 23 May 2013. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  7. ^ Spencer, Richard (9 June 2013). "Syria: Assad forces massing for major assault on Aleppo". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  8. ^ The Wave from Syria: Flow of Refugees Destabilizes Lebanon, Der Spiegel, 2 October 2013
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference senior was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Dexter Filkins (30 September 2013). "The Shadow Commander". The New Yorker. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  11. ^ Rowell, Alex (20 May 2013). "Qusayr resisting all-out attack". NOW Lebanon. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  12. ^ a b "Syrian rebels lose strategic town in boost for Assad". Reuters. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  13. ^ a b "The Qusayr Rules: The Syrian Regime's Changing Way of War". 31 May 2013.
  14. ^ "Syria and Hezbollah bolster forces in Qusayr". Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  15. ^ a b "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights". Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  16. ^ "Syria: Qusayr Battle's Unofficial Story". 7 June 2013. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  17. ^ "The Battle for the Qalamoun Mountains". Foreign Policy. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  18. ^ Dave Gavlak (27 September 2012). "Jordan arrests 8 Syrian refugees over camp riots". Washington Examiner. Associated Press. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  19. ^ "The Battle for Aleppo". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference shield was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ "Syria fighting flares both sides of Lebanese border". Reuters. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2014.