June 5, 2013
The loss of what had been a rebel stronghold near the Lebanese border represents a blow to rebels’ efforts to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and may portend heightened sectarian tensions.
That echoes what rebels have been predicting for weeks: that a government takeover of Qusayr could lead to a new level of sectarian warfare between Sunnis — who dominate Syria’s population — and Shiites and Alawites. Al-Assad’s family, which has ruled Syria for 42 years, belongs to the Alawite sect.
“If Qusayr falls at the hands of the regime, there is no way to stop the acts of reprisal, and that retribution will (reach) another level,” rebel spokesman Col. Abdul Hamid Zakaria told the Al-Arabiya TV network last month.
“This will lead to Shiite and Alawite towns to be completely wiped out of the map.”
Indeed, video appeared Wednesday(Scroll down for linked video) on YouTube showing what the poster said were Free Syrian Army fighters launching rockets at two Shiite villages, inhabited mostly by Assad loyalists, in an overwhelmingly Sunni region in the northeastern province of Aleppo.
Last week, Brig. Gen. Salim Idris of the rebel Free Syrian Army asked the public to “excuse (the) FSA” for any retaliation.
“We are being subjected to genocide conducted by Hezbollah,” he told Al Arabiya.
Related: NewsRescue-US Backed Syrian Rebel – Terrorists Cuts Out Soldier’s Heart and Eats it [Video]
France has said that Hezbollah sent as many as 4,000 fighters to Syria to bolster al-Assad’s forces. The Lebanese militants “produced major results,” particularly in the battle for Qusayr, said Fawaz Gerges, director of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics. –CNN
Genocide Video: Syrian Rebel/Terrorists Launch 2 Rockets at non-combatant Shia dominant Villages in their (Rebel/Terrorist) controlled Aleppo
Related: DailyStar-4,000 Hezbollah fighters reach rebel-held Aleppo: FSA
