Monday, Nov 18, 2013
(FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 11/18/13)
By Rima Abushakra
BEIRUT -- Syrian government air raids on a town near the Damascus-Homs highway appeared to set the stage for a full military attack to take control of the strategic supply route, driving thousands of Syrians into Lebanon over the weekend.
Local media reported that Syrian government forces, with the help of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, were preparing to launch a military campaign to take full control of Qalamoun, a mountainous region north of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Taking control of Qalamoun would secure the country's main highway connecting cities to the capital, a major supply route for fighters on both sides to reach various parts of Syria.
The raids come as the Syrian regime and the political opposition posture over whether they will participate in prospective peace talks backed by Western states and Russia. Syria's political opposition voted in Istanbul last week to attend the talks, given a set of preconditions.
The regime has called for talks without conditions.
The scale of the government's impending offensive in Qalamoun remains unclear.
"Taking over the area would be highly important strategically and tactically at a relatively low cost," said Elias Hanna, a retired general with the Lebanese army.
Other activists said rebels, exhausted by army advances in Damascus and Aleppo, sought to lure the army into a battle in Qalamoun to ease pressure on other fronts and secure a supply line to besieged areas on the outskirts of Damascus.
Some 10,000 people have crossed into Ersal since Friday, the United Nations and local authorities said.
Ersal's population has swelled to 110,000 people from 40,000 since the Syrian uprising began in March of 2011 and continues to rise, said Ali Hujairi, the city's mayor.
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Sam Dagher in Damascus and Mohammad Nour Alakraa contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
18-11-13 0422GMT
