(CNN) -- Violence surged in the strategically important Syrian town of Qusayr on Sunday. Activists said the offensive marked some of the most intense fighting they've seen in the fiercely contested area near the Lebanese border.
Rebels and the Syrian government both claimed to control parts of the city, where fighting has been raging for weeks. Activists said artillery shells, mortar shells and bombs from aircraft were raining down as government forces attacked. Makeshift medical clinics were reportedly filled with casualties.
By all accounts, Qusayr is in a strategically valuable location.
For rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad's government, it sits along a transit route for weapons and supplies coming in from Lebanon.
For the Syrian government, it's a key point between the capital of Damascus and al-Assad's supporters on the Mediterranean coast.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/19/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
Rebels and the Syrian government both claimed to control parts of the city, where fighting has been raging for weeks. Activists said artillery shells, mortar shells and bombs from aircraft were raining down as government forces attacked. Makeshift medical clinics were reportedly filled with casualties.
By all accounts, Qusayr is in a strategically valuable location.
For rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad's government, it sits along a transit route for weapons and supplies coming in from Lebanon.
For the Syrian government, it's a key point between the capital of Damascus and al-Assad's supporters on the Mediterranean coast.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/19/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
