Kerry Says Thousands of Hizbullah Fighters in Syria, Party Dragging Lebanon into War

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday accused Hizbullah of dragging Lebanon into war, noting that thousands of the party's members are fighting in Syria.

In a joint press conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh in Amman, Kerry also voiced concern that chaos might spill over from Syria into Lebanon, condemning the intervention of Hizbullah and Iran in the Syrian crisis.

Fierce clashes have been ongoing since Sunday in and around the Syrian town of Qusayr after the Syrian army managed to storm the rebel stronghold with the help of Hizbullah fighters.

Hizbullah had declared that it was offering assistance to Lebanese residents of Syrian border towns near Qusayr and helping them defend themselves against rebel attacks.

Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah later stressed that the Syrian regime's “friends” will not allow its downfall, admitting that his party's fighters were taking part in combat alongside regime troops in Qusayr and near the Sayyeda Zainab holy shrine in Damascus.