Syrian Coalition: Regime and Hezbollah Casualties Continue to Mount in Qalamoun

Activists said that ten pro-regime and 10 Hezbollah militants were killed during the ongoing clashes with rebels in Qalamoun. Rebels captured regime positions in and around the villages’ Assal al-Ward and Al Jubba. Lebanese troops stormed of the Syrian refugee camps in the town of Arsal at dawn yesterday, where 200 refugees were brutally rounded up and arrested under the pretext that gunmen whose names are on the wanted list are holed up inside the refugee camps. Lebanese troops torched the tents in the camp, which led to the death of a child and the occurrence of cases of suffocation among the refugees, mostly women and children. Nasr al-Hariri, Secretary General of the Syrian Coalition, said that the abusive behavior of the Lebanese army towards the of Syrian refugees in the town of Arsal does not conform to the repudiation of the Lebanese army, stressing that such behavior will further fan the flames of the situation in Lebanon and the entire region. He also said that these acts have always coincided with the setbacks suffered by the Hezbollah militia on multiple fronts in Syria, citing the gains made by rebels lately in Qalamoun. “Any efforts aim at defusing the situation will yield temporary results so long as they are not based on pressuring Hezbollah to withdraw its militias from Syria in accordance with the terms of the UN resolution No.2178. These reckless acts will certainly not affect the sacrifices that has been provided by the Lebanese people to their Syrian brethren. The violations against the Syrian refugees in Lebanon have been provoked by Hezbollah in order to salvage its influence which is about to vanish as a result of its intervention in Syria.” Hariri concluded his remarks extending his condolences to the family of the child who died during the raid on the refugee camps. “We call on the Lebanese government to immediately stop these abuses against the Syrian refugees, release the detainees, and to open an investigation into these repeated violations and take legal action against those responsible.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)