Report: Syrian army takes 2 villages near Lebanon

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29-03-2014 | 04:57
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Report: Syrian army takes 2 villages near Lebanon
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Report: Syrian army takes 2 villages near Lebanon

Syrian government forces captured Saturday two villages near the border with Lebanon after clashes with opposition fighters, cutting a major supply route for weapons and fighters into Syria, state TV said.
    

The report said the villages of Flita and Ras Maara fell into the hands of government forces early in the day. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed troops were inside the two villages and advancing, although it had no immediate word on whether they fell to government forces.    

The Observatory said government forces are backed by members of Lebanon's Hezbollah, which openly started taking part in Syria's war last year against opposition forces.   

The villages were the latest targets of a government offensive in the rugged Qalamoun border region after troops captured the town of Yabroud earlier this month. Tens of thousands of Syrians fled into Lebanon since the Qalamoun offensive began in November.   

Flita, which is about 5 miles (7 kilometers) from the border with Lebanon, had been a major crossing point for rebels coming from across the border into Syria to fight President Bashar Assad's forces. Syria's mostly Sunni rebels draw supply, recruits and support from Sunni communities in Lebanon.    

The TV said the villages fell after government forces "wiped out the last remnants of armed terrorist groups and destroyed its weapons and tools they used in their crimes." The Syrian government refers to rebels as "terrorists."      

Syria's uprising, which began with largely peace protests in March 2011, has evolved into a civil war with sectarian overtones that has left more than 140,000 people dead.


AP

To watch Rima Assaf's report, please click on the VIDEO above

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