Slaughterhouse Syria!

More condemnations and sanctions will not be enough. If we don’t draw the line at Houleh, larger massacres will follow and the fragmentation of Syria will become unstoppable, with regional and global consequences.

Saturday May 26, 2012

Death toll: 41, including 13 in Homs City (including 6 women), 11 in Damascus and suburbs, 8 soldiers in Hama executed on the spot for trying to defect, 3 in Idlib, 3 in Daraa, 2 in Aleppo and 1 in Hassakeh.

Locals in Houleh District, Homs Province, are still tallying the number of the dead from Friday May 25 massacre. Latest figures put the number of confirmed dead children at 47 with three more still reported missing. The adult toll is now put at 64, including 34 women. A mass burial was held on Saturday noon for many of those already identified.

Other hotspots on Saturday include Eizaz and Al-Atareb, towns in the province of Aleppo, where continued operations by pro-Assad militias disrupted talks aimed at securing  the release of 14 Hezbollah members captured earlier by units affiliated with the local resistance.

Meanwhile, the Kurd Mountain and Hiffeh District, a majority Sunni area in the coastal province of Lattakia, came under pounding from pro-Assad militias for the second consecutive day.

News

UN: 32 children, 60 adults killed in Syria attack

U.N. official: More than 90 dead in Syria, many of them children

UN chief condemns village killings in Syria

Speculation over 'killing' of Assad brother-in-law

Syrian rebels say Turkey is arming and training them

Op-Eds & Special Reports

Syria 'massacre' raises pressure for international response

Iran Is Seeking Lebanon Stake as Syria Totters

Does al-Qaeda have a foothold in Syria?

How Washington Lost Syria

U.S., allies accelerating plans to secure chemical arsenal as Syrian crisis worsens

Why Bashar al-Assad stresses al-Qaida narrative

Syrian Opposition Targets the Regime Online

How About Leading from the Front?

The Houleh Massacre

The pounding of Houleh District (an amalgamation of towns, the largest being Tildo and Kafar Laha; population estimated at 100,000 mostly Sunni Muslims) by pro-Assad militias on Friday May 25, left close to 100 locals dead, including by latest counts 47 children (below the age of 10) and 64 adults. This is just the latest episodes in a series of massacres perpetrated by Assad loyalists since the beginning of the Syrian Revolution, but the first such development on this scale since the beginning of the Annan Mission. The massacre came on a Friday dedicated to the anniversary of Hamzah Al-Khateeb, a little boy from Daraa Province who was captured, tortured and killed by pro-Assad security forces.

The fact that UN monitors ended up confirming the massacre should come as a further proof of the accuracy of reports and videos produced by field activists. News organizations might continue to repeat the mantra that they have no way of verifying the accuracy of the videos they show, but whenever they did gain access, they have always been able to verify that the videos and reports were indeed accurate. Perhaps they should modify their mantra to reflect this as well out of respect for the bravery of all those field activists who risk their lives to get the truth out.

As usual, rather than inspiring fear, the massacre inspired rage, and people all over the Syria took to the streets in a sign of increasing defiance. Units of the Free Syrian Army have also conducted a number of reprisal attacks against loyalist military checkpoints and convoys. Deir Ezzor City in the northeast particular witnessed intense clashes between member of loyalist militias and local resistance.

Houleh: The dead children (WARNING: video is gruesome) http://youtu.be/gosLh8HvCEU Some of the dead adults http://youtu.be/q2jUq3N4ubI Close-ups http://youtu.be/0tZMvnQ3Wc0 , http://youtu.be/w9dUN5pN8IU Preparing the dead for burial http://youtu.be/ocfT2tFOg4w The Mass Burial http://youtu.be/cnnX7wUB7cI , http://youtu.be/cz8UUCll46E Some of the survivors: women and children come together under the shelling for comfort, as we can see here. http://youtu.be/6Rl8NyRvu1s That was the problem. A couple of homes were hit, and the result was a massacre. Monitors arrive to inspect the situation http://youtu.be/9B_yxZPDMQ8 , http://youtu.be/5W2T-doUSPg They later confirm the massacre.  

Video Highlights

Hama

In Hama City, on May 24, a woman and her 4 children were slaughtered in cold blood by pro-Assad death squads http://youtu.be/Lb1D5fme2oo

In Kafrenboudeh, Hama Province, pro-Assad militias in action http://youtu.be/gUxKWawLOhg

Damascus

In Damascus City’s Midan District, protesters take to the streets in defiance shouting “where are your dogs, Assad?” http://youtu.be/Olskg7dVvAs

Earlier in the day, the suburb of Arbeen was pounded http://youtu.be/ffh4lQRP_ds , http://youtu.be/LmMaMg1VjWw

Locals in Al-Qadam Neighborhood come under fire as they took part in the funeral of one of their colleagues http://youtu.be/GwX9XvlvotU

Some of Today’s martyrs from Damascus: Naher Eisheh http://youtu.be/eZVgFmaTGsk Al-Qadam http://youtu.be/7FSWuzXUnLw

Funerals in Damascus City: Kafar Sousseh http://youtu.be/si7KwYXB1nw , http://youtu.be/Dcu3mEvW0iA Zamalka http://youtu.be/yAMWhjJQ7q4

Saturday Rallies in Damascus: Tadamon http://youtu.be/nNy1BGDCdG0 Ruknaddine http://youtu.be/ELwqiVqifXE  Yabroud http://youtu.be/2kE9yyPZRfg Zamalka http://youtu.be/yQ-cT35kGKM Zabadani http://youtu.be/x4TILQYnQZ0 Eltal http://youtu.be/qiEosxNjuJU Barzeh http://youtu.be/R-8Kk47OfRo Jazmatiyeh http://youtu.be/-dGOtgk907A Mazzeh http://youtu.be/fRkV4aEec-Y

Similar rallies took place in communities all across the country.

Aleppo

In Aleppo Province, the town of Eizaz came under renewed pounding by heavy artillery http://youtu.be/vRNKCdqtFzk , http://youtu.be/mVKKftCq_PA

In Aleppo city’s Salaheddine Neighborhood, protesters clash with local security http://youtu.be/02Shm8F1tkY Before the clashes http://youtu.be/pM7lf9muqmE then, protesters come under fire http://youtu.be/3SjX0tBmorc

Daraa

In Daraa Province, the town of Khirbet Ghazaleh comes under intense pounding http://youtu.be/JJtNrT-xntM , http://youtu.be/JdAWGyLTwCQ

Homs

In Homs City, Qoussour Neighborhood comes under fire at night http://youtu.be/blVWR44e_sY

In the town of Rastan, UN monitors relay the regime’s conditions to local leaders of the FSA: they want them to put all their weapons in one area. Of course, no agreement is reached. This is an aimless mission http://youtu.be/nwDqYH3k9nQ

In Qusayr, a failed attempt at reviving a wounded man http://youtu.be/QtkqQSLnQH4 Martyrs http://youtu.be/XE3RWad6Xsc , http://youtu.be/yAblB4LYTg0

Idlib

In Kafar Takhareem, Idlib Province, the sounds of automatic gunfire ring through the night http://youtu.be/MDcWq5LM6kU

In Khan Shaikhoon, Idlib Province, locals find a mass grave for people killed by pro-Assad militias http://youtu.be/6g0X3fugsYI

Local FSA units form a unified military council in Idlib http://youtu.be/XM1uVycaWiw