evidence: Qusayr’s importance lays in the fact that it served as a logistical conduit for the anti-Assad revolt facilitating the movement of weapons and militants between Lebanon and Homs. Lebanon’s northeast Bekaa Valley is home to a Sunni population, most of which sympathizes with the Syrian opposition. Syrian rebels and Lebanese volunteers infiltrated Syria from Lebanon via the flat arable Masharei al-Qaa district and the adjacent arid mountains to the east.[6] Furthermore, the highway linking Damascus to the Mediterranean coastal port town of Tartus runs between Homs and Qusayr. Rebel control of Qusayr and parts of Homs threatened regime traffic. [...] [6] Personal interviews, Syrian rebel fighters, Jdeideh, Arsal, Masharei al-Qaa, Lebanon, May 2012-May 2013. [...] [11] Personal interviews, rebels belonging to the Jusiyah Martyrs Brigade (a unit in the Farouq Battalions), Masharei al-Qaa, Lebanon, October 8-9, 2012. See also Nicholas Blanford, "Accusations Mount of Hezbollah Fighting in Syria," Christian Science Monitor, October 15, 2012.