The Battle of Hosn was a one-day battle during the Syrian Civil War around the village of Hosn and its proper center in the 900-year-old medieval Crusader castle of Krak des Chevaliers, a UNESCO world heritage site, that had been in the hands of rebel fighters along with Hosn itself since 2012. The Syrian Army's objective during the battle was to sever the

rebel A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification ...

s' supply routes for recruits and weapons coming in and out of

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

. On the morning of 20 March, fighting started around early dawn with a heavy bombardment of the

medieval castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified ...

where 300 rebels were believed to reside. The town of Hosn itself was also shelled. According to an opposition activist, an agreement for safe conduct of the rebels to Lebanon had been reached the previous day. The military commander leading the battle denied that an agreement had been reached. He stated the military had refused to grant the rebels holed up in the castle safe conduct from the fortress and made the final push into it after seeing the rebels retreating. Another opposition activist countered with claims the military ambushed individuals fleeing Hosn, near the Lebanese border, leaving many dead. Government troops took the castle by the early afternoon. 12 rebel fighters were killed in the engagement inside the castle, including Abu Suleiman Dandashi, an Ahrar ash-Sham brigade commander and Lebanese national. According to military sources, 40–93 rebels were killed as they retreated, including Khaled al-Mahmud, purported to be the leader of the jihadist Jund ash-Sham rebel group. Several soldiers were also killed in the fighting. After the capture of Hosn and the castle, the Army announced that it had regained full control of the western part of the

Homs Governorate Homs Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة حمص / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥimṣ'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in central Syria. Its area differs in various sources, from to . It is thus geographic ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hosn Military operations of the Syrian civil war in 2014 Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the al-Nusra Front Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Free Syrian Army Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Syrian government Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving Hezbollah Homs Governorate in the Syrian civil war March 2014 events in Syria Battles of the Syrian civil war

See also

References