Photos: Syrian Army seizes Qusayr in major victory for regime
June 6, 2013
Syrian government soldiers stand in front of the clock tower flying the national flag in the main square of the city of Qusayr, in Syria's central Homs province, on June 5, 2013, after the army claimed it had seized total control of it and the surrounding region. Syria's rebels conceded they had lost the battle for the strategic town of Qusayr which was vital for the opposition as it was their principal transit point for weapons and fighters from neighbouring Lebanon. AFP PHOTO / STRSTR/AFP/Getty Images ( 520311636 )
A picture taken on June 5, 2013 shows a street left in ruins in Qusayr in Syria's central Homs province, after government forces seized total control of the former rebel-stronghold. The United States condemned the assault by Syrian troops on Qusayr, claiming the regime had had to depend on the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to win the battle, causing tremendous suffering during a blistering 17-day assault which ended in a major battlefield success for regime forces in a war that has killed at least 94,000 people. AFP PHOTO / STR-/AFP/Getty Images ( 520338378 )
A picture taken on June 6, 2013 shows Syrian army soldiers walking with cows in a street in Qusayr in the central Homs province. Syrian soldiers bombarded a village where rebels and civilians fled to after being routed the previous day from the strategic border town of Qusayr, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. AFP PHOTO/STR-/AFP/Getty Images ( 520350611 )
Syrian army soldiers gather in front of a badly damaged clock tower on top of which flies a Syrian flag on the main square of the city of Qusayr on June 5, 2013 in Syria's central Homs province, after the army seized total control of the city and the surrounding region. The Syrian army ousted rebels from the strategic town of Qusayr after a blistering 17-day assault led by Hezbollah fighters, scoring a major battlefield success in a war that has killed at least 94,000 people. AFP PHOTO / STR-/AFP/Getty Images ( 520316995 )
A Syrian army's soldier walks in a street left in ruins with a national flag featuring Syria's President Bachar al-Assad on June 5, 2013 in the city of Qusayr in Syria's central Homs province, after the Syrian government forces seized total control of the city and the surrounding region. The Syrian army ousted rebels from the strategic town of Qusayr after a blistering 17-day assault led by Hezbollah fighters, scoring a major battlefield success in a war that has killed at least 94,000 people. AFP PHOTO / STR-/AFP/Getty Images
Syrian army's soldiers walk in a street left in ruins on June 5, 2013 in the city of Qusayr in Syria's central Homs province, after the Syrian government forces seized total control of the city and the surrounding region. The Syrian army ousted rebels from the strategic town of Qusayr after a blistering 17-day assault led by Hezbollah fighters, scoring a major battlefield success in a war that has killed at least 94,000 people. AFP PHOTO / STR-/AFP/Getty Images ( 520316999 )
Syrian army troops drive through the ravaged streets of Qusayr in the central Homs province on June 5, 2013, after government forces seized total control of the former rebel-stronghold. The United States condemned the assault by Syrian troops on Qusayr, claiming the regime had had to depend on the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to win the battle, causing tremendous suffering during a blistering 17-day assault which ended in a major battlefield success for regime forces in a war that has killed at least 94,000 people. AFP PHOTO / STR-/AFP/Getty Images ( 520340239 )
A picture taken on June 6, 2013 shows a Syrian men during a tour in Qusayr in the central Homs province. Syrian soldiers bombarded a village where rebels and civilians fled to after being routed the previous day from the strategic border town of Qusayr, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. AFP PHOTO/STR-/AFP/Getty Images ( 520350606 )
The permanent representative of the Syrian Arab Republic at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, Faysal Khabbaz Hamoui (C), arrives on May 29, 2013 for an urgent debate on Syria in Geneva. The council is to consider a resolution condemning the Syrian regime's use of foreign fighters in Qusayr. FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images ( 520136282 )
United States representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe delivers a statement on May 29, 2013 before an urgent debate on Syria at the UN council in Geneva. The council is to consider a resolution condemning the Syrian regime's use of foreign fighters in Qusayr. FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images ( 520136083 )
The permanent representative of the Syrian Arab Republic at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, Faysal Khabbaz Hamoui (Far R) gestures on May 29, 2013 during a debate on Syria in Geneva. The council is to consider a resolution condemning the Syrian regime's use of foreign fighters in Qusayr. FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images ( 520137849 )
Syrian troops take control of the village of Western Dumayna, some seven kilometers north of the rebel-held city of Qusayr, on May 13, 2013. Syrian troops captured three villages in the strategic Qusayr area of Homs province, allowing them to cut supply lines to rebels inside Qusayr town, a military officer told AFP. JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images ( 519688404 )
A Syrian soldier sits inside a tank as troops take control of the village of Western Dumayna, some seven kilometers north of the rebel-held city of Qusayr, on May 13, 2013. Syrian troops captured three villages in the strategic Qusayr area of Homs province, allowing them to cut supply lines to rebels inside Qusayr town, a military officer told AFP. JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images ( 519688401 )
Syrian army soldiers inspect a house as they advance in on the village of Western Dumayna, 7 km north of the rebel held city of Qusayr on May 13, 2013. Syrian troops captured three villages in the strategic Qusayr area of Homs province, allowing them to cut supply lines to rebels inside Qusayr town, a military officer told AFP. JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images ( 519687903 )
Members of Lebanon's of Hezbollah Shiite Muslim movement carry the coffin of a killed comrade during his funeral in the village of Haret al-Fikani, in the Bekaa valley, on May 23, 2013, after being reportedly killed in the ongoing battle of Qusayr in the province of Homs, in neighboring Syria. Seventy-five fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah have been killed in Syria since they first became involved in the country's war months ago, a source close to the Shiite militant group said. AFP PHOTO/STR-/AFP/Getty Images ( 519999421 )
Syrian opposition activists protest outside the venue of the main opposition National Coalition meeting in Istanbul on May 26, 2013. Angry at the Coalition's failure to reach any agreement, a group of some 15 protesters gathered outside the hotel where the group was meeting, with some demanding speedier action and others rejecting negotiations outright."We want them to decide. They've been in there four days, discussing expansion while they should be taking a stand against Iran and Hezbollah's attack on Qusayr. What are they doing?" said one activist from Daraa in the south. The Coalition, which depends on foreign backing, has long been marred by regional rivalries that play themselves out through disagreements among opponents. The Coalition in its current shape is dominated by main opposition bloc, the Syrian National Council, in which the Brotherhood plays a key role. OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images ( 520089020 )
Syrian army's soldiers sit on a tractor holding their weapons on June 5, 2013 in the city of Qusayr in Syria's central Homs province, after the Syrian government forces seized total control of the city and the surrounding region. The Syrian army ousted rebels from the strategic town of Qusayr after a blistering 17-day assault led by Hezbollah fighters, scoring a major battlefield success in a war that has killed at least 94,000 people. AFP PHOTO / STR-/AFP/Getty Images ( 520316997 )
Forces loyal to the Syrian army celebrate as they drive through the main square of Qusayr in Syria's central Homs province on June 5, 2013, after government forces seized total control of the former rebel-stronghold. The United States condemned the assault by Syrian troops on Qusayr, claiming the regime had had to depend on the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to win the battle, causing tremendous suffering during a blistering 17-day assault which ended in a major battlefield success for regime forces in a war that has killed at least 94,000 people. AFP PHOTO / STR-/AFP/Getty Images ( 520340237 )