⚔Battle of Qusayr begins

On 4 April 2013 the Syrian army and Hezbollah began the offensive in the Qusayr countryside bordering Hermel, the party's first major battle in Syria. Its fighters took Tal al-Nabi Mando after two attempts and repelled a counter-attack by some 400 gunmen, then in April took 22 villages east of the Orontes, among them Jousieh, al-Ziraa, al-Atifiyeh and al-Abboudiyeh, over an area of about 130 km² within 48 hours. By mid-May Qusayr was encircled except for a northern corridor passing by the Dabaa airfield, which the opposition factions held.