Syrian government soldiers advance in the village of Dahret Abed Rabbo in Aleppo province Damascus – George Al Shami Around 40 people have been killed as the vicious battle for the Syrian rebel-held city of Qusayr continues, local media has reported. A child was among the dead, activist sources said. Activists have also released a video supposedly proving that the Debaa military airport, a centre point for clashes between opposition and pro-regime forces, was still in their control.
Shells landing on the city, close to the Lebanese border, are reportedly at a frequency of between 30 and 40 a minute.
Military analysts have claimed President Bashar al-Assad loyalists and Hezbollah forces have made “key gains” but that fierce resistance from opposition fighters holding the city had repelled repeat attacks.
Last week government troops launched an assault on Qusayr and the intervention of hundreds of fighters of Shiite militant group Hezbollah from neighbouring Lebanon has given the regime the upper hand in the battle.
Loyalists overran a disused military airport on Saturday just north of the besieged town, where the rebels had set up base, a military source said.
But six days after the assault began, fierce resistance continued from the rebels, for whom Qusayr provides an important supply line for arms and volunteers from nearby Lebanon.
"The fighting and shelling, which took place on Saturday on the main roads inside and outside of Qusayr, are the most intense since the beginning of the offensive," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdul Rahman.
The Observatory said at least 27 rebels and three civilians were killed, including a child.
Qusayr is a key prize for Assad because of its strategic location between Damascus and the Mediterranean coast, the Alawite heartland of the embattled president's regime.
Of concern to world powers is that the offensive in Qusayr has sparked renewed clashes between Assad supporters and opponents inside Lebanon.
Fighting between them in the Lebanese port of Tripoli has killed 30 people since May 19, a security source said.