Tuesday, December 11, 2012

5 Videos #Syria So, Are "Al Qa'eda Terrorists" Winning the Civil War?


Conflicting accts re: Alawite victims near Hama. Rebel attack? This tells different story
Collapse 
3:39 PM - 11 Dec 12 · Details

Syria Live Coverage: So, Are "Al Qa'eda Terrorists" Winning the Civil War?


        
 Share     
Tuesday, December 11, 2012 at 19:21 | James Miller in , , 
Insurgents celebrate the capture of the major military base near Shiekh Suleiman, west of Aleppo

See Also Syria Feature: Questions About the "Boy Beheads Two Regime Officers" Video
Yesterday's Syria Live Coverage: "A Political Process to End the Crisis is Still Possible"
Today's Separate Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Protests and the Opposition's Next Move
2032 GMT: Another video reportedly shows an eyewitness account from Aqrab:
Zilal translates the video into this basic narrative:
The man says that elements of regime forces did this. [The boy says "Jish," which means army, and the man clarifies that he means "Shabbiha," which has become a catch-all term for pro-Assad armed forces]. Also the second injured boy is saying that "shabiha" were responsible. The man says that there are still 300 people in the hands of shabbiha and that probably the shabbiha will kill them to accuse the FSA of the crime.
And the child replies that these 300 people have already all been killed.
At the end of the video the man says that these two children, another little girl, and a woman are all under his protection and under the protection of FSA and he calls for the Red Cross to come in order to treat them and take their version of the events. Then he says the date and location (Houla, 11 December 2012).
Storyful's Felim McMahon sends me another eyewitness report, written in Arabic. Another source sends us this narrative, which we believe is just a translation:
The Free Syrian Army surrounding a building belonging to the shabiha in Aqrab village, in which the regime forces had taken women and children captive. They intended on using the civilians as human shields to protect themselves from an attack by the FSA. Afterwards, some of the leaders of the village, including Shaikh Ali al-Omar and Shaikh Saa'do Hamash and the retired Colonel Shaker Akkash. It was a group of eight people who went to negotiate the release of the women and children, and to ask the regime forces to turn themselves in, promising their safety. The leaders were kidnapped in an attempt to pressure the FSA, and thus the FSA retreated. Afterwards, the shabiha killed the leaders and threw hand grenades at the women and children who were trying to escape. They took advantage of the FSA's retreated by leaving the building and blowing it up, attempting to frame the FSA for this operation. They also fired missiles at the building, and an air raid on the area left it completely destroyed, killing the 200 - 250 civilians (including women and children) inside. Some of the wounded Alawites, women and children, were evacuated, and verified this report.
1937 GMT: A note on video we posted earlier (see update 1843) - there is no clear evidence that a car bomb ever went off. What there are, however, is a series of videos that do appear to show damage from bombings. The damage to the rooftops posted in many videos is also very evident.
We're working on identifying this explosive, but in one of the videos we've posted, a man finds a piece of metal, perhaps some part of an explosive, with what appear to be Chinese characters on it. Remember, this is found on a rooftop (click for full size).
We're not saying that we can definitively disprove any of the other theories floating around. However, at this point, all the evidence gathered so far suggests that, assuming these videos were take today in Aqrab, the culprit is airstrikes, not a carbomb.
There is still very little evidence, however, to support the large numbers of deaths we're hearing be reported. It's still very early, and unfortunately we may not have much more information until tomorrow.
1920 GMT: The National journalist Hassan Hassan translates an eyewitness report, purportedly from Hama:
This is a translation of a post by someone from Hama. Details about today's massacre in Syria, in which over 200 people were killed in a small village. *Link in comment. "Aqrab is a hamlet 40km west of Hama city. It has a population of 13,000, 3,000 of them are Alawites who live side by side despite the events. The Alawites in the village oppose the regime’s crimes.
In the early hours of the morning, the regime’s forces bombed and shelled Aqrab. Towards the end of shelling, the shelling focused on a neighbourhood where Alawites live. Several houses fell on their owners. The Alawites tried to flee the village to avoid the violence. The regime’s Shabbiha prevented them from leaving and shot at them after confrontation between the villagers and the Shabbiha.
The result was at least 200 people killed, including children and women. After that ended, the Free Syrian Army nearby took the injured and pull the dead from the rubbles and hosted some of the Alawite families in their villages. There is a fear that villages in Houla will face a massacre because they rescued people from Aqrab village."
1910 GMT: There is absolutely no shortage of claimed eyewitness testimony from Aqrab - the problem is finding the translators to sift through it all.
For instance, Jalal Sleiman (see previous post) reportedly interviews a survivor in a video shared by the LCC. A mourning mother cries after a loss. A graphic video reportedly shows doctors working to patch up an injured child, injured by "shabiha" according to the narrator. A boy says shabiha are responsible for his injuries. In fact, a single Youtube channel provides many videos, but verifying and translating each one will be a project. Also, all reports, from many sources, prior to the massacre suggest that airstrikes, and no other cause, created the destruction.
But 125-200 dead? We've yet to see any dead. Was there a car bomb? How could airstrikes kill that many so quickly?
Rula Amin has a series of tweets that tell a confused tale from her own sources:
We'll note we have not seen those LCC reports yet, so perhaps Rula is speaking directly with a representative of the LCC. We'll also caution, however, that in the past, when journalists spoke with a single member of the LCC, sometimes their reports have not meshed with the overall narrative put forth by the organization.
The investigation goes on.
1843 GMT: A peculiar twist - Arqab (updates below) is a predominantly Alawite village by some, but not all, accounts. The dominant narrative we've seen today is that airstrikes and artillery shells were responsible for the deaths. Now, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group which we've been critical of in the past, says that 125 were killed in "explosions" in Aqrab, and it's unclear who is responsible:
"We cannot know whether the rebels were behind this attack, but if they were, this would be the largest-scale revenge attack against Alawites," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
"We call for the establishment of an independent commission of jurists who can investigate the attack. We want a Syria which is free and democratic, not one which is based on sectarian hatred," Abdel Rahman told AFP.
...
"The rebels took over a checkpoint near Aqrab just over a week ago," said Abdel Rahman.
Al Jazeera's Rula Amin says, ""It's a remote area and it's late in the night," indicating that she has no way of verifying the reports.
Meanwhile, we turn to a video, reportedly taken near the village on December 3rd. Zilal, who has been wonderfully helpful, translates the video:
Jalal Sleiman interviews a boy who fled Aqrab village in the Houla area in Homs province on 3-12-2012. He explains that regime forces surrounded the northern area and that warplanes dropped barrel bombs killing 8 people and wounding 50, and he says that there are clashes against FSA.
He says that there are about 500 of shabbiha in the village
Zilal says that the men walking across the background of the video are elements of the FSA heading towards Aqrab to help the win the fight inside the village. As the video plays, smoke can be seen in the distance.
In another video the same man interviews some children who say they fled the village because of the shelling.
The videos can't be independently verified, but so far all evidence suggests that the town has been under bombardment for some time, though there are now fighters from both sides in the town.
Also, the narrative in many videos posted this afternoon is that the rebels are helping the Alawites, including many children, who have been injured, but without independent corroboration these videos, hypothetically, could be staged.
Another day in Syria, and there's another confusing narrative. All we know for certain is that Aqrab is not a good place to live today.
1800 GMT: For several hours, reports have been coming in of some kind of "massacre" in Arqab, northwest of Houla in the countryside of Hama (map). For days it's been reported that the conditions there were growing worse. Videos posted on December 3rd show an interview of young men who were reportedly fleeing the town. One interview was taken while reportedly just after "barrel bombs" fell.
Now, the LCC reports there's been "a massacre in Alawite town as a result of missile and tanks shelling of a shelter in the town."
This video reportedly shows some of the bombardment of the town:
An incredible video that claims to show the widespread destruction after bombs fell:
Another claims to show a partial collapse of a building, reportedly the result of bombs. While the video plays, another impact can be heard in the distance.
The number of casualties may be incredibly high. Al Jazeera Arabic (which is not always the most reliable source) even says that 147 people have been killed in Homs today, most in the town of Aqrab. This number may be alarmist - though some estimates go as high as 200, but these are all unconfirmed rumors at this point.
Another Youtube channel has some videos from field hospitals, but there are only a few that have been uploaded so far.
We're working hard to verify these reports and to potentially identify the remains of the bomb shown in one of those videos.
1630 GMT: According to the Local Coordination Committees, the death toll has risen by another 114 so far today:
55 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs "including 31 unidentified bodies in Damascus and Ein Tarma" ; 18 in Aleppo; 11 in Hama (including 6 in Mesyaf); 11 in Deir Ezzor; 11 in Idlib; 5 in Homs; and 1 in Lattakia.
Some of the "unidentified bodies," according to the LCC, include bodies "field executed," reportedly by Assad soldiers, in various areas.
1616 GMT: More videos from the rebel offensive in Idlib (see update 1527) - A T-55, a BMP-1 armored vehicle, and dozens of insurgents in Amud after liberating the village from Assad forces (map):
1552 GMT: Another rebel victory? The LCC reports that insurgents have captured several checkpoints east of Damascus:
The Free Syrian Army gains control over 2 checkpoints belonging to the regime's forces in Rankous and gains control of the technical school in Harasta. Regime forces are firing land missiles that are capable of carrying chemical warheads.
This video, reportedly taken today, claims to show an FSA vehicle, painted with the independent flag, firing its anti-aircraft weapon in Harasta (map):
This video, taken yesterday, reportedly shows a slightly less sophisticated, but effective, weapon being used in Harasta:
And this video, again, reportedly taken yesterday, claims to show a multiple-launch rocket launcher,perhaps a type 63, being used by the Free Syrian Army in Harasta:
These videos are not the remote mountains of Idlib, nor the deserts of Deir Ez Zor. Harasta is a significant suburb, and if the insurgents are now using this kind of firepower this close to the capital, it could be a sign that not only Assad's ground forces are weak, but that his airforce is far weaker than it has been in the past as well.
1527 GMT: Today, many brigades of the Free Syrian Army, and other independent brigades, have launched a massive offensive operation in the mountains of Jisr al Shughour. Today, the rebels captured the village of Amud (map) in a sudden and decisive battle, and they appear to have captured at least half a dozen armored vehicles in the process.
An extremely helpful source, Zilal, has helped us translate some of the large body of videos. According toZilal, an announcement of the battle made on Youtube earlier lists the following brigades as having participated in the assault. Note that they are a mix of Free Syrian Army, independent groups, and even hardline groups like Jabhat al Nusra.
Brigades of the revolutionary council of Jesr al-Shoughour area, Jubhet al-Nusra, Ahfad al-Rasoul Brigade, Ahrar al-Sham Brigade, Al-Iman Brigades, Al-Tawheed Battalion, Ahfad al-Sahaba Brigade, Assi Martyrs Brigade, Martyrs of the Coast Brigade, and others.
According to sources, the insurgents appear to be marching north, across the ridge, using captured armored vehicles, heavy machineguns, snipers, infantry, and other equipment to dislodge Assad forces and secure the high ground.
Posted by Robby Ball at 12:58 PM