The Second Battle of al-Qusayr started on 19 May 2013, as part of the larger al-Qusayr offensive, launched in early April 2013 by the Syrian Army and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, during the Syrian civil war, with the aim of capturing the villages around the rebel-held town of al-Qusayr and ultimately launching an attack on the town itself. The region was strategically important as a supply route for rebels fighting Syrian government forces in Homs and also for the Syrian government, as it lies between the capital, Damascus, and the Syrian coast, a stronghold for Assad supporters.
Prior to the offensive, the Syrian Air Force dropped leaflets over the town warning that government forces were going to attack the city. This led to thousands of civilians fleeing, though 25,000 residents stayed. Free Syrian Army (FSA) General Salim Idris warned of a "massacre" if the Syrian Army and Hezbollah were to take the town.
During the final days of the battle Hezbollah forces and rebels negotiated a withdrawal plan, in which the rebels and civilians could evacuate the town through a narrow corridor without being attacked. On 5 June, after two weeks of fighting, the Syrian Army and Hezbollah regained control of al-Qusayr as the last rebel contingents retreated. One observer described the battle as the "defining battle of the country's civil war."
The battle
First week
On 19 May, after two days of calm, planes, artillery and mortars bombarded al-Qusayr in the early hours of the morning killing 20 people, including 11 rebels. Later in the day, government troops, backed-up by hundreds of Hezbollah militiamen, stormed the city from several directions. Fierce fighting raged around the entrances to the town. Helicopters were seen bombing a heavily damaged neighbourhood in video uploaded onto the Web. Clashes at nine points in and around al-Qusayr were reported during the day.
Syrian troops entered the center of the city later in the day, seizing the town's main square and its municipality building, a military source said. One opposition activist denied that government forces made gains and stated that the municipality building had already been destroyed six months earlier. He also reported that 17 houses had been destroyed in the early morning bombardment. However, another opposition activist at the end of the day confirmed the Army had captured the municipality building and were in control of 60% of the city.
Government troops had attacked from the south, east and northeast. According to one soldier, after fierce fighting they quickly seized the southern part of town, the town hall and nearby buildings, and advanced on the western outskirts. During the operation, troops had to defuse mines and bombs placed by rebels at the entrances to the city. The attack appeared to surprise the rebels, who expected the Army to push via the north by attacking several rebel-controlled villages before attacking the city itself. Hezbollah fighters had descended on the city from the Al Tal area, west of the Assi river, which has an overlooking position over al-Qusayr. Several rebel fighters accused some commanders of fleeing the Al Tal area after they bought their way out of al-Qusayr at the last moment before the assault on the city started. Many fighters reportedly managed to break the siege by escaping through a secret route towards Josiah and the Qalamoun Mountains to the south. However, government troops apparently found out about the escape route nearly a week before and blocked it, killing and injuring around 30 fighters. According to the FSA, the commander of Hezbollah's forces leading the battle in al-Qusayr is Mustafa Badreddine, who is accused of involvement in former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri's murder. "It has been confirmed that Mustafa Badreddine is present on Qusayr's front where he is leading Hizbullah's operations", said a statement issued by the FSA.FSA: Mustafa Badreddine Leading Hizbullah Operations in Qusayr Naharnet, 20 May 2013
A Hezbollah fighter reported that their forces managed to clear two-thirds of the city and were moving towards the northern section of al-Qusayr when they were attacked from behind by rebel fighters, which they had not previously seen. At that point they suffered a lot of casualties, most of them shot in the back.
Later, in an analysis by AP, it was determined that government forces had captured more than half the city within hours of the start of the battle, primarily the southern and eastern parts of al-Qusayr. Rebels remained entrenched in the northern and western parts of the town.
By the second day of the battle, state media claimed they had restored "stability" in the town's east, and was still hunting "remnants of terrorists" in some northern and eastern areas. The areas listed by them as coming under Army control were: "The local stadium area; some parts of the western area, municipality HQ, the cultural centre, the Church, al-Baladyeh roundabout and al-Ghytta area." An opposition source also reported the fighting to be concentrated in the northern part of the city.
SOHR reported the Army surrounded the village of al-Dab'a, north of the city. SOHR said there were conflicting reports as to whether or not the Syrian army was fighting inside al-Qusayr city, but had reports which confirmed that they were gathering near the western neighborhood of al-Qusayr "in order to lay siege on the city itself". Thick black smoke could also be seen from the direction of that air base, north of the city, as government troops fought to retake the facility.
An activist claimed that government and Hezbollah forces had been pushed back to their starting positions on the outskirts of the city, while an FSA spokesman claimed that the government force's efforts to enter the city were being blocked by the FSA, and accused the Syrian army of using a scorched-earth policy during the battle. At the same time, another opposition activist once again reaffirmed that government forces had captured the municipality building and the city center and had pushed out rebel units out of most of al-Qusayr. An Al Jazeera reporter in Beirut also said that it seemed that the Army had control of most of the town.
On the third day of the fighting, elite Hezbollah reinforcements were sent from Lebanon across the border to al-Qusayr. SOHR reported that much of the town had been destroyed by this point. SOHR had also confirmed, for itself, for the first time that fighting was raging in the city itself. Hezbollah fighters were no longer being used as conventional soldiers, instead they are breaking up into small groups and being used in a "guerrilla warfare" role against the rebels for which they were trained.
A US State Department official, citing multiple rebel sources, claimed that Iranian soldiers were involved in the battle for al-Qusayr, whether they are fighting or not remains unclear.
On 22 May, George Sabra, president of the SNC, issued a call for reinforcements to be sent to al-Quasyr stating "Everyone who has weapons or ammunition should send them to Qusair and Homs to strengthen its resistance". The Islamic Tawheed Brigade reportedly sent a convoy of 30 vehicles to al-Quasyr from Aleppo. Later, Abu Firas of the Tawid brigade claimed that a total of 300 support units arrived in al-Qusayr, adding that they also sent an ambulance, an antiaircraft weapon and ammunition. SOHR reported that rebel reinforcements from the town of Ind Shamseen, who were trying to reach al-Qusayr, were ambushed by government forces and two rebels were killed. Days later, an opposition activist denied any reinforcements had arrived in al-Qusayr, stating that "No one is helping Qusair other than its own men".
One rebel source said government and Hezbollah forces had cut most of the oppositions overland supply lines into al-Qusayr and some others reaffirmed that they believe government troops had captured about 60 percent of the city, while a government official claimed they controlled up to 80 percent of the city. Rebel sources reported the Army was holding 40% of the city, with opposition forces still in control of the central and western part of al-Qusayr.
Government troops were advancing cautiously amid heavy fighting which largely destroyed the city. Morale among Army personnel was reportedly high as "news broke" about the killing of al-Nusra Front commander Abu Omar. Military commanders on the ground said that the battle for Qusayr is far from over and it could take one more week to retake the northern part of al-Qusayr where rebels were entrenched. Meanwhile, opposition forces were still holding the al-Dabaa air base. It was reported that the Army had discovered rebel tunnels linking areas around the town. Morale was also high among Hezbollah fighters, despite losing a large number of men.
On 24 May, rebels launched a counter-attack in which they claimed to have recaptured three posts from the Syrian Army and Hezbollah fighters. SOHR reported that two rebels were killed. Rebel forces in al-Qusayr were joined by the 'cannibal' commander, Abu Sakkar, who became notorious after appearing in a video in which he ate the heart of a dead government soldier. It was also reported, according to pro-government sources, that Army forces were advancing in the nearby town of Hamidiya, in an attempt to cut the opposition forces' last supply line into al-Qusayr. Opposition sources denied this with an FSA major claiming the attack on the city via Hamidiya was repulsed. However, SOHR said that fighting in Hamidiya was still ongoing.
An AFP journalist said the eastern part of the city was transformed into a military barracks. A military officer told the journalist that the Army was in the penultimate phase of the battle. According to SOHR, the Army and Hezbollah were encircling and bombing the rebels in the northern part of the town, into which government forces were squeezing opposition fighters, as stated by a military officer. Another officer stated that the rebels were confined in a triangle linking Arjun, al-Dabaa and the northern part of al-Qusayr. A large force of rebels had retreated to the al-Dabaa air base. The approach of the Army was described as being slow and methodical, taking over small bit of ground from rebels and consolidating it before advancing again. Very few reinforcements reached the rebels, due to the control of surrounding roads by the government. This was reaffirmed when one opposition activist in fact said that no reinforcements had arrived into al-Qusayr at all.
At daybreak on 25 May, the Army unleashed the heaviest shelling since the start of the battle with barrages of rockets and tank shells hitting al-Qusayr and the surrounding rebel areas, specifically Hamdiyeh and the al-Dabaa airbase to the north. The barrage lasted for six to seven hours with an average of 40 shells per minute hitting the town. Government forces also fired two surface to surface missiles during the bombardment. According to military sources and state media, the Army launched a three-pronged attack on the town which was advancing well and resulting in heavy losses for the rebels. A Hezbollah fighter told Reuters that the attack was advancing slowly due to rebel efforts at mining the town, with the fighter saying "Even the refrigerators are mined."
Government and Hezbollah forces had also reportedly breached rebel defence lines at the al-Dabaa air base from the northwest and entered the facility where fighting was ongoing, according to the Army. SOHR reported that the fighting was taking place around the base, while rebels were still maintaining control of it, though it was being heavily shelled by government forces. Among the weapons being used were also multiple rocket launchers.