Syrian army Assad troops won victories against rebels with help Lebanese Hezbollah militants 0606132

Earlier on Wednesday, the Syrian troops regained full control of al-Qussair in Homs province after more than two weeks of " precise" and "qualitative" operation, according to the state-TV.

The Syrian army pushed its way into al-Qussair located near the border with Lebanon more than two weeks ago after taking control of its suburb following 46 days of battling. The operation aimed at cutting the rebels' main supply line in the central region of the country.

As the army declared victory Wednesday, the rebels reportedly announced their withdrawal from al-Qussair overnight "after the Syrian army and Hezbollah fighters committed a massacre that killed hundreds of people."

The Syrian army, however, dismissed the massacre report and said in a statement that "We assure our people in general and al- Qussair's citizens in particular that the army troops have evicted the civilians that were used by the rebels as human shields and the wounded people are being treated."

The army, moreover, called on the citizens of al-Qussair to return to their homes.

Taleb Ibrahim, a political expert, told Xinhua recently that al- Qussair's importance lies in its location, which is in a mountainous area overlooking Syria's border with Lebanon.

The city's proximity to the Lebanese town of Arsal has made it a main smuggling route of weapons and armed men into Homs, Ibrahim said, adding that regaining control over the city would deprive the armed rebels of their main supply line and would thus deal a heavy blow to their very existence in Homs and central Syria as a whole.

Turki Hasan, another political expert, told Xinhua Wednesday that the retrieval of al-Qussair by Syrian troops has great significance in restraining military activities of Syrian rebels, adding the rebels lost an important strategic location near the border with Lebanon.

"Al-Qussair is of a special importance in the war against our country for more than two years. Al-Qussair is a border city and thus it has become a center for luring, preparing and arming the terrorists who spread from the city to the provinces of Homs and Hama and to the suburbs of Damascus," Hasan said.