The White House has issued a statement today condemning the Syrian government for retaking a strategically important town along the Lebanese border, insisting that it caused “untold humanitarian suffering.”
Spokesman Jay Carney insisted that the US knew Syria’s government couldn’t retake the town of Qusayr without Hezbollah’s help. The town had been under rebel control for months and finally fell after weeks of fighting. Carney also demanded Hezbollah immediately withdraw to Lebanon
CNN reported that there are actually “no civilians in this city anymore,” despite US claims that huge numbers of civilians were trapped in the town. Rebels have demanded that Syria allow the Red Cross into the town, which it had said it would do once the remnants of the rebels were ousted.
Though a town of only 30,000 people, Qusayr was strategically important because of its location along a key highway linking Damascus to the north of the country. The rebel occupation kept Syrian forces from using the highway to reinforce units in the north.
