Skip to main content

Syria’s War of Tunnels

An exclusive report from Qusair.
A picture taken on June 8, 2013 shows Syrian army soldiers gathering ammunition from a tunnel in the village of Buweida, north of Qusayr, in Syria's central Homs province. Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have now seized all of the Qusayr area in central Syria, state television reported, as troops overran the last rebel bastion in the area. AFP PHOTO / STR        (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)

The "War of Tunnels" is probably the most suitable name for the war fought in Syria's strategic region of Qusair, on the border with Lebanon. In each city, town and village, dozens of hideouts and underground routes have been found by the Syrian army and Hezbollah fighters.

"These tunnels were used to connect alleys with each other, exit routes and hideouts, snipers' shooting posts and weapons storage," Major Abdo, a Syrian army officer, told Al-Monitor. The tunnels were under almost every house and building. I entered one in one house, and at the end of it I found myself in the living room of an adjacent house. According to Abdo, "These tunnels took them a lot of time to plan, dig and connect." 

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.