Hezbollah calls on Syrian refugees from Qusayr to return

BEIRUT: Hezbollah’s chief called Friday on refugees from Qusayr in  Syria  to return home to this area, where the Lebanese Shiite movement first stepped in to support Damascus against rebels six years ago.
Syria ‘s military retook Qusayr, a strategic town near Lebanon’s border, in June 2013 after a blistering assault led by Hezbollah fighters.
“We have sorted our situation in Qusayr to allow for the full return of people from the town and the (surrounding) villages,” Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech.  The move was made in coordination with Syrian authorities, he added, calling particularly on “residents of Qusayr villages currently in Lebanon” to take the necessary steps to return.  In April 2013, Nasrallah for the first time acknowledged that Hezbollah fighters were aiding Syrian troops to combat the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Qusayr had been used by rebels as a transit point for weapons and fighters from Lebanon, and was strategically vital for the regime because it is close to a major road linking Damascus to the coast.