Hezbollah firing hundreds of rockets into Syria on daily basis – Syrian
rebels
20/10/2012 By Yousef Diab.
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=31524

Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat – Syrian opposition forces have accused Hezbollah of
actively taking part in the fighting in Syria, claiming that the
Lebanese–based Shiite organization is firing hundreds of rockets into Syria
on a daily basis.

Speaking exclusively to Asharq Al-Awsat, Syrian opposition Local
Coordination Committee-member, Mohamed al-Homsi, accused Hezbollah of
“intervening in the fighting alongside the Syrian regime with all of its
power” adding “Hezbollah is firing its rockets – the same rockets that it
claims are to fight Israel – into Syrian territory to kill Syrian people.”

Al-Homsi, who is a member of the Homs Local Coordination Committee,
confirmed that “between 100 and 150 rockets and mortar shells are being
fired by Hezbollah into the Syrian town of al-Qaseer and the surrounding
villages on a daily basis, from the group’s military positions in Hermel [on
the Syrian – Lebanese borer].” He also revealed that the previous few days
have seen a strong intensification in the barrage of rocket fire from
Hezbollah into Syrian opposition-held territory.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat “it has become clear that Hezbollah is taking part,
with all of its strength, in this battle, which it considers itself to be a
part of. Hezbollah has sent thousands of its troops, along with military
equipment and arms, into Syria, deploying them throughout Homs and the
surrounding areas, in addition to Hama, Aleppo, Zabadani and Damascus. They
are engaging in fierce clashes with rebel forces”.

Al-Homsi also revealed that “Hezbollah fighters are teaching the al-Assad
regular forces and pro-regime Shabiha militias how to fight street battles"
adding “Hezbollah elements are actively taking part in the conflict in Homs,
from suppressing protests to leading the battles in Deir Baalba, Baba Amr,
al-Qaseer and elsewhere.”

The British Daily Telegraph issued a report confirming that Hezbollah is
launching rocket attacks into Syria, with one eye-witness saying “they
[Hezbollah] are concentrating on hitting the villages where the Free Syrian
Army are, to weaken them before launching a ground attack.”

Another activist informed the British newspaper that the rocket attacks
began six weeks ago, adding “Hezbollah does this almost every night. It gets
heavier when the fighting gets worse here.”

Responding to these accusations, Hezbollah MP Walid Sakaria, strongly denied
that Hezbollah was firing any rockets into Syria, stressing that “it would
be impossible to fire such rockets without people in the surrounding area
hearing or seeing this.”

He also told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the accusations being leveled against us
clearly demonstrate that Hezbollah is being targeted simply because it is an
enemy of Israel and the US project in the region, and so we are not
surprised to be facing such accusations.”

He added “the NATO project in the region requires Sunni – Shiite conflict
which will ultimately lead to a peace agreement with Israel, according to
the Israeli conditions. Therefore the accusations that Hezbollah is firing
rockets into al-Qaseer and Zabadani represent an attempt to incite this
conflict and to say that Shiite Hezbollah is striking the Sunni regions in
Syria.”

The Hezbollah MP stressed that “the NATO project will not succeed unless it
incites enmity between the Arabs and Iran and promotes the idea that Tehran
represents a threat to the Arab world.”