The United States on Wednesday condemned an assault by Syrian troops on the town of Qusayr, claiming the regime had had to depend on Hezbollah to win the battle and was causing tremendous suffering.
In a statement, the White House also urged the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to allow aid organizations into the town to help “evacuate the wounded and provide life-saving medical supplies and treatment.”
“The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the Assad regime’s assault on Qusayr, which has killed untold numbers of civilians and is causing tremendous humanitarian suffering,” spokesman Jay Carney said.
“It is clear that the regime could not contest the opposition’s control of Qusayr on its own, and is depending upon Hezbollah and Iran to do its work for it in Qusayr.”
Carney renewed a call for Hezbollah and Iran to withdraw their fighters from Syria and urged all sides “to avoid actions that could exacerbate the already devastating toll of this crisis on civilians and increase the risks of spillover of violence.”
Syrian troops ousted the rebels from the strategic town near the Lebanese border on Wednesday after a devastating 17-day assault led by Hezbollah fighters from across the frontier with Lebanon.
The rebels conceded they had lost Qusayr after controlling it for a year, but opposition interim leader George Sabra declared they would fight on “until the whole country is liberated.”
Washington would continue “to provide support to the moderate political and military opposition to help them shift the balance on the ground to advance a political transition,” Carney added.
But State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed that Washington had still not made any decision about providing arms to the rebels.
“This is a fight between the Syria people. Obviously we are committed to helping the opposition,” she insisted, adding that the US had increased its non-lethal and humanitarian aid to the opposition over the past months.
“This is a challenging situation on the ground. There’s no question,” she said, adding the US would continue working with the rebels’ Supreme Military Council to assess its needs.
US condemns Hezbollah-backed assault on Qusayr
