In Syria, the Syrian Government forces captured Qusayr, a strategic city in Homs province connecting the capital to the Mediterranean coast. Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were reported to have killed at least 100 people who fled the town of Qusayr after it was captured by army troops on 9 June. The UN and the ICRC have requested humanitarian access to Qusayr, but this request was turned down by the Syrian Government despite winning assurances of access earlier in the week. Regime forces are reportedly preparing for an assault on the opposition-held countryside surrounding Aleppo and the city in an attempt to re-capture positions from opposition forces as well as cut off their arms supply routes from Turkey. While an estimated 5 million people are internally displaced, the number of Syrians registered or awaiting registration in host countries has surpassed 1.6 million.
The widespread involvement in the Syrian conflict of the Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shi’ite Islamist militia, alongside government troops in the offensive against the opposition-held stronghold Qusayr has resulted in an increasing spill-over of the Syrian conflict into Lebanon. On 2 June, the first major clashes between Lebanese Hezbollah militiamen and Syrian opposition fighters inside Lebanese territory resulted in the deaths of at least 15 fighters near the eastern town of Baalbek.
In Mali, the army started a new military offensive to re-establish control of Kidal, which has been held by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) since February. Talks scheduled to be held on 7 June between Malian authorities and the MNLA have been postponed indefinitely.
FAO reported this week that 600,000 people are severely food insecure in Guinea while an additional 1.7 million are at risk of food insecurity. In addition, more than 50 people have been killed in the country in three months of clashes between protesters and security forces in the run up for legislative elections scheduled for 30 June.
