THE General Command of the Syrian army said yesterday that ‘Our armed forces succeeded early on Wednesday to restore security and stability to the city of al-Qusayr and clear it of the terrorists.’
The statement clarified that the army seized full control of al-Qusayr after ‘a series of accurate successful operations carried out in the city and the villages and towns surrounding it’.
It added that the operations resulted in the killing of a large number of terrorists, the surrender of some others and the escape of the rest, noting that army units are now continuing to unlock roads, dismantle mines and remove barricades.
‘The victory that was achieved at the hands of our brave soldiers sends a clear message to all those who are involved in the aggression against Syria, on top being the Zionist enemy and its agents in the region and tools on the ground,’ the statement said.
‘Our armed forces will remain ready to face any aggression against our dear homeland,’ the General Command stressed.
‘While affirming that their battle against terrorism will continue until restoring security and stability to each and every inch of the homeland, our armed forces stress at the same time that they will act mercifully towards those misled gunmen who surrender and drop their weapons, whether they are those who fled al-Qusayr or any area in Syria,’ it added.
The General Command called upon the residents of al-Qusayr to return to their homes and properties within days, stressing that ‘those whom the gunmen had used as human shields were all evacuated, with the injured being now treated.’
‘Following their successive victories in the battle against organised and systematic terrorism, our armed forces stress that they will not hesitate to strike the gunmen wherever they are on any inch of Syria’s land,’ the statement said.
• Demonstrations erupted all over Turkey early yesterday as workers defied a government plea to end days of mass actions.
Police used tear gas and water cannon on thousands of protesters, who ignored warnings to disperse in Istanbul, Ankara and the southeastern city of Hatay, where a young protester died a day earlier.
The violence came after a second major trade union confederation, DISK, came out on strike yesterday announcing it was joining protests against the government.
Spokesman Baki Cinar dismissed Deputy Prime Minister Arinc’s conciliatory statement of the day before.
‘The apology is just damage control and only because they know they are stuck,’ he said.
Thousands gathered at Istanbul’s Taksim Square for a sixth day, yelling defiance at Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who earlier had dismissed the protesters as ‘extremists’ and ‘vandals’.
He was in Algeria on the second day of a four-day official visit to north Africa.
‘The vandals are here! Where is Tayyip?’ yelled the crowd.
They accuse Erdogan of imposing conservative Islamist reforms on the secular nation.
Even fans from rival football teams Galatasaray, Besiktas and Fenerbahce linked arms, united in protest.
