REPORT: Syrian doctor says 300 wounded trapped in al-Qusayr

Fighting continued in the town of al-Qusayr on Monday as opposing factions battled to gain control of what is becoming an increasingly important strategic focal point.        

Footage from state-run television, broadcast on Monday showed soldiers walking through deserted streets in areas they claimed to control.

Meanwhile, a Syrian doctor told The Associated Press that 300 seriously wounded residents need to be evacuated from the town for medical treatment.           

50 abandoned homes around al-Qusayr have been turned into makeshift hospitals, four of which have been converted into operating theaters, he said.          

Syrian regime troops alongside fighters from Hezbollah have gained ground, but rebels have been able to defend some positions and appear to be dug in the north and west of the town.         

Also on Monday, Hezbollah militants fought Lebanese Sunni militants trying to reach al-Qusayr to join the Syrian rebels.          

Hezbollah's role in Syria's civil war has become more apparent in recent weeks as the group buried dozens of fighters who have been involved in an ongoing battle for al-Qusayr.            

Positions:            

The United States came "late" to an effort to end the Syrian civil war and is trying to prevent the total collapse of the country, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday. 

In turn, Russia blocked a UN Security Council declaration on the siege of the Syrian town of al-Qusayr over the weekend because it amounted to a demand for a unilateral ceasefire by government forces, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.    

Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich described what is happening in al-Qusayr as a "counterterrorist operation against militants who have been terrorizing the population" of the Syrian town.            

However, RIA news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying that the United States is not putting enough pressure on the Syrian opposition to participate in a peace conference Moscow and Washington are trying to organize.     

This as the British foreign minister said it will decide whether to arm Syrian rebels only after planned peace talks involving President Bashar al-Assad's government and his opponents.         

For his part, William Hague told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily in an interview published on Monday that the priority was U.S. - and Russian-led efforts to get the warring sides to the negotiating table, but said he was "not overly optimistic".         

Hague added it was not too late to arm the rebels, despite the risks involved, given that the more than two-year-old war in Syria had no end in sight.         
 

REUTERS/AP/LBCI


For the full report please click on the VIDEO above