When the fighting stops, the village feels empty. A motorbike rumbles to life and buzzes away.

For nearly six months, Syrian troops and tanks have blockaded this Syrian town near the Lebanese border.

Residents point to the damage -- the price of a protest movement against President Bashar al-Assad.

(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MOHAMMED, RESIDENT OF QUSAIR, SAYING:

"A man was drinking tea here and a shell hit him and he died, the shell came from Bashar al Assad's troops."

One 70-year retired Syrian army officer has lost two sons.

(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) QUSAIR RESIDENT, ABU KAZEM, SAYING:

"A patrol of the Syrian army opened fire on the people who lay on the ground, the soldiers were enjoying it while they were killing the people, they even killed the injured people,"

He is learning to live without.

(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) QUSAIR RESIDENT, ABU KAZEM, SAYING:

"There is no bread, no fuel, there is nothing. We are getting supplies in many ways; we get from our neighbors, friends and cousins,"

The arrival of the Free Army fighters late last year has given the town some respite. But few expect it to last. They fear once Assad's forces clear rebel strongholds in Homs, they will be next.

Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters