Assad’s forces recapture Crusader castle from rebels

Lebanese private broadcaster Al-Mayadeen TV aired footage of Syrian soldiers walking unopposed into the Crac des Chevaliers, the towering hilltop citadel. The loud crackle of celebratory gunfire could be heard as troops explored the sprawling 12th century castle, which is a Unesco World Heritage site.

The military’s push into the Crac des Chevaliers marked the latest in a string of battlefield gains for President Bashar Assad’s forces.

Government troops have seized at least four towns and villages in the past two weeks near the border with Lebanon as the army tries to sever opposition supply lines across the rugged, mountainous frontier.

The sharpest blow to the rebels came with the fall of their stronghold of Yabroud near Lebanon’s eastern border on Sunday.

But the government capture of the Crac des Chevaliers, which dominates the surrounding valley and terraced hills below, marked another painful and symbolic setback. Rebels had controlled the castle since 2012.

“Our efforts, those of the Syrian Arab Army and the National Defence Forces, were crowned today by raising the Syrian flag on the Crac des Chevaliers,” an unnamed Syrian army colonel told Al-Mayadeen. “The battle had been going on for more than a month during which several nearby villages were liberated.”

Syrian state television said troops “wiped out terrorists who were entrenched in the castle”. Syrian authorities refer to opposition fighters as terrorists.

An activist based in the nearby city of Homs said the government agreed that opposition fighters be given safe passage to Lebanon.

The activist, who goes with the name of Beibares Tellawi, said that troops captured Hosn, the town at the foot of the castle, after an intense bombardment by the Syrian air force.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighting around Hosn killed 12 fighters. The dead included the local leader of the Jund al-Sham Islamic group. Lebanese television stations identified the dead commander as Abu Suleiman Dandashi, a Lebanese national.