Naharnet

Official Sources Deny Reports about Syrian Army Entering Masharii al-Qaa, Threatening to Bomb Houses

Members of the Syrian regime's army entered the Bekaa region of Masharii al-Qaa, threatening to bomb the houses in the area, MTV reported on Thursday.

"Residents of al-Jura town (in Masharii al-Qaa) said that 70 members of the Syrian army have entered the region and asked people to evacuate their houses,” MTV elaborated.

"The army members revealed that they wanted to bomb these residences to prevent using them in military operations against them.”

Future television added that al-Jura's residents have started evacuating their houses.

However, the state-run National News Agency later on Thursday pointed out that reports about the Syrian regime's army entering and threatening Lebanese towns are not true.

LBCI television reported earlier on Thursday that the Syrian army has taken over the eastern mountain of al-Joussieh town that overlooks Masharii al-Qaa.

Fierce clashes are still taking place in al-Qusayr's countryside region near the Lebanese border between the Syrian army and Hizbullah fighters on one hand, and the opposition's rebels on the other.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had announced that Iranian and Hizbullah officers are supervising the Syrian army's operations in Homs.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah acknowledged on Tuesday his party's participation in the neighboring country's war, explaining that this stems from its belief in helping the Lebanese in al-Qusayr “who are vulnerable to attacks by gunmen.”

He also announced that Hizbullah fighters are defending holy places in the area: “Armed groups are only hundreds of meters away from the Sayyeda Zainab shrine and Takfirist groups launched clear threats on the Internet that they will destroy the shrine should they enter the area."


Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/81749