Bashar Assad’s forces have retaken a town on the Lebanese border as they press an offensive against fighters in a conflict that has now cost more than 100,000 lives, activists said on 27 June. Syrian army has taken full control of Tel Kalakh. Like Qusair, Tel Kalakh was used by fighters in the early stages of the conflict as a transit point for weapons and fighters smuggled into Syria to join the fight against Assad.
Meanwhile, Western and Arab nations pledged at the weekend to send urgent military aid to the fighters. Hezbollah’s involvement has highlighted the increasingly sectarian dynamic in the Syrian conflict. Hezbollah and Tehran back Assad. Jordan’s King Abdullah said the war could ignite conflict across the Middle East unless global powers helped to convene peace talks soon.