Iran's servants, an armed ethnic party and a faction parallel toal-Qaeda were only some of the labels applied over the weekend toHezbollah in the Arab media, days after its participation in the battle for theSyrian strategic town of Qusair, which tipped the scales in favor of the forces supporting PresidentBashar Assad's regime.

 

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"It's a cancer that's eating away at an already fragile region and exploits the religious civil war in heinous ways in order to help the criminal regime," charged an editorial in Asharq Al-Awsat, an independent London based publication, typical of the tone adopted toward the Shiite terrorist group after it played a pivotal role in crushing the anti-Assad opposition in Qusair.

 

 Sweets from the locals, sweets from Hezbollah. 'Qusair in 2006 and today'

 

"The Arab street has awoken to Hezbollah's true, ugly visage," Al-Hayat claimed."An organization enshrined for over three decades as resisting the occupier is but an armed ethnic group in the service of Iran."

  

Hezbollah fighters celebrate victory in Qusair

 

Asharq Al-Awsat went further, calling to declare Nasrallah a wanted criminal. Their position was echoed by Yusuf Qaradawi, a prominentEgyptian Islamic theologian, who urged all Suni Muslims to fight Assad's regime and "the devil's party" of Hezbollah.

 

Taking control of Qusair, strategically located between Damascus and the Alawite heartland near the Mediterranean, represents a major victory for regime forces. The overwhelmingly Sunni town has served as a conduit for shipments of weapons, fighters and supplies smuggled fromLebanon to the rebels inside Syria.

 

In addition to the sharp criticism in mainstream Arabic media, the group's involvement in the battle for Qusair saw graffiti spray-painted against it in the southern Lebanese town of Marjayoun, where it has usually enjoyed strong support.

 

"Your turn will come, Shiites," and "Hezbollah, disappear!" read some of the writings.

 

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