Members of the Free Syrian Army. Photo: World Defence News.

Some 5,000 Hezbollah fighters crossed from Lebanon into Syria last month to fight on the side of Bashar al-Assad’s forces the Al Watan newspaper reported on Monday. According to the paper, nearly 300 of those fighters have been killed in the last several days.

According to sources Hezbollah has increased aid to Bashar al-Assad in light of the recent progress made by rebel fighters against government forces.

Since the conflict in Syria erupted nearly two years ago Hezbollah has repeatedly been accused of aiding the Syrian government’s crackdown, an accusation it has strongly denied. In December the UN confirmed the presence of Hezbollah fighters in Syria fighting on behalf of Bashar al-Assad.

In a recent speech Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah recognized that events in the region were affecting Lebanon domestically, saying,”We must acknowledge that Lebanon is the country that is affected the most from regional developments, especially those in Syria,” adding “Lebanon is being affected by the war in Syria.”

On Sunday Bashar al-Assad made his first public speech since June. He was defiant and stated that the conflict in his country was a foreign conspiracy. “Those are the enemies of the people and the enemies of God. And the enemies of God will go to hell,” Assad said, referring to opposition fighters.