A/HRC/24/46 Annex III [English only] Inquiry into events in Al Qusayr 1. Pro-Government forces, including Hezbollah, launched a major offensive against the region of Al-Qusayr, Homs governorate, from 4 April to 8 June 2013, forcing the withdrawal of anti-Government armed groups from the town and the surrounding countryside. 2. In its Resolution A/HRC/23/1, the Human Rights Council requested the Commission of Inquiry to “urgently conduct a comprehensive, independent and unfettered inquiry into the events in Al Qusayr” and requested the findings of the inquiry be included in its report to the Council at its 24th session. 3. This Annex details the offensive according to information collected during the investigations, taken together with documentary material such as photographs, satellite imagery and video recordings. Background 4. Al-Qusayr is located in Homs province at a strategic juncture for the warring parties’ forces operating in the central governorates. The town is located close to the Lebanese borders along the main line of communication between Damascus and both northern and coastal governorates. 5. Since early 2012, anti-Government armed groups have controlled parts of the locality and extended their presence to its countryside, reducing the presence of Government forces to the eastern neighbourhood of Al-Qusayr city around the security square. Control of the town enabled the armed groups to ensure cross-border movement of arms and logistics while also disrupting the Government’s supply lines from Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. 6. Government forces responded by imposing a siege on Al-Qusayr towns and surrounding villages. The Syrian army prevented the flow of food and water into the areas from the northern and eastern access points, while Hezbollah did the same following the assumption of control of access points to the south and west. For over a year, Al-Qusayr and nearby villages came under heavy shelling and aerial bombardment by Government forces. Both the Government siege and shelling of the area intensified in the weeks prior to the ground attacks. 7. From April to mid-June, anti-Government armed groups fired homemade rockets and artillery shells into villages, such as Hermel, under Government and Hezbollah control. Some rockets fell on Al-Qasr, a village inside Lebanon, causing civilian casualties. 8. In the Al-Qusayr western countryside, tensions increased between anti-Government armed groups and pro-Government armed elements in the Shia villages. This led to Hezbollah’s incremental involvement. As a result of clashes between the warring parties, local inhabitants from the predominantly Sunni villages around Al-Qusayr were internally displaced to safer areas in Al-Qalamoun, northeastern Damascus countryside, with thousands fleeing to the town of Ersal in Lebanon. 34