It’s a
massacre. No, it’s a firefight. They used helicopter gunships. No, they didn’t…
But the real story is simple and the patterns are clear: it’s ethnic cleansing
and it’s taking place over a wide swath of territory in central Syria. Tanks,
heavy artillery and helicopter gunships are being used, while the intended
victims have only light weapons and limited munitions at their disposal as they
try to resist. But for those who still doubt that it’s all about ethnic
cleansing. Perhaps this report
and the attached map produced by BBC mapping the major instances of violence
since the beginning of the Revolution can help change their perspective. Even
the Arab League chief now agrees
that ethnic cleansing is taking place in Syria.
Sunday July 15, 2012
Today’s Death toll: 81. The Breakdown: 18 in
Damascus, 16 in Homs, 15 in Deir Ezzor, 10 in Aleppo, 7 in Idilb, 5 in Daraa, 3
in Hama, 3 IN Hassakeh, 1 in Suweida and 1 in Quneitrah.
News
New
Account of Syria Killings New evidence on last week's killings in a village in
central Syria suggests the bloodshed followed a raid by government forces to
arrest male rebels, rather than a deliberate massacre of around 200 civilians
as some Syrian opposition leaders and their Western allies first reported.
Syrian
townspeople describe government shelling Residents of Treimseh tell U.N.
investigators that their town was shelled and suspected rebels were apparently
executed, contradicting the official account.
Syria
crisis: What happened in Tremseh? • UN: evidence points to battle between fighters and troops
• Locals: Troops "shot at anything moving" • Government: No heavy
weaponry was used • Red Cross: This is now a civil war
Op-Eds &
Special Reports
Comment:
If anyone still
doubts that ethnic cleansing is taking place in Syria, check out this report by
BBC and the map included showing patterns of the major incidents that took
place since the beginning of the revolution: Syria: The violence
mapped
If people
are fighting back to defend themselves, then it’s a firefight not a massacre
and the victims will have brought it upon themselves by bringing light weapons
to a showdown featuring tanks, heavy artillery and helicopter gunships.
If people
fight back, then it’s a civil war. But if they don’t fight back, then they will
likely be killed, in which case they can have the world’s sympathy and retain
the moral high ground.
I say: the
moral high ground be damned! Fight back.
Video Highlights
Rastan, Homs Province: A
family is trapped under the rubble of their home, 5 children die http://youtu.be/m78zBTkMGCM Meanwhile,
another member of the Tlass family, Bashar Tlass, a major from the 4th
Division, announces his defection http://youtu.be/nzKavZZoMno
But the pounding continues http://youtu.be/jGzieIdYVsE
, http://youtu.be/5zkOH5V1l_8 From
the sky http://youtu.be/nWC8Wp3lXV8
Salqeen, Idlib Province: local
resistance use a car bomb to blow up a checkpoint from which tanks keep
pounding their town http://youtu.be/Cz1RqZrQXw8
Elsewhere in town, the resistance destroy a tank and clash with loyalist
militias http://youtu.be/zyGrxrsdC3g
The resistance patrol the streets of the city http://youtu.be/L6bq-1io1Ns Rescuing
wounded http://youtu.be/KT30YI-9va4
But other parts of town still come until sporadic pounding http://youtu.be/uvE1NszSO2o
Tanks
laying siege to Treimseh, Hama, as UN monitors pay another visit http://youtu.be/QMrCFPPDgEc
Old
Homs:
some snipers are revolutionaries, and their targets are pro-Assad troops
patrolling the relics that used to be their neighborhoods http://youtu.be/nI1nnKrmVXI It’s this
kind of incidents that make the situation in Syria a civil war, and that calls
for launching a major peacekeeping operation.
A video
from the battle in Damascus City: Tadamon http://youtu.be/487RhQnasak Shortly
after, the battle intensifies as the tanks move in an the suburb is pounded http://youtu.be/mmzLtSxKOI0 The pounding
leaves several buildings on fire http://youtu.be/walLOGqB9pQ
Black smoke could be seen rising above the neighborhood from downtown Damascus http://youtu.be/miCSnMD9PdY , http://youtu.be/7qv9l8oFRKY
People in
nearby Daf Al-Shawk come under fire when they rally in support of
Tadamon http://youtu.be/xezUEzpF-1g
Clashes last until the evening http://youtu.be/T_rAqFyMLr0
In Qadam, locals clash with pro-Assad militias and burn tires in the
streets http://youtu.be/zrly3k0ReI0 Locals in nearby Yarmouk Camp close their
shops and hurry home in panic that the pounding might touch their neighborhood
as well http://youtu.be/vLYX6mTqxjA Tanks
patrol the nearby suburb of Saqba http://youtu.be/KYFg6_Xd600
In Khalid
Bin Al-Walid Street in downtown Damascus, young activists interrupted
traffic by burning tires in protest of the poudnding of Tadamon http://youtu.be/SpVVyRNXxo4
In Marei,
Aleppo, local resistance tests an anti-aircraft battery that they managed to
acquire after a raid on a local checkpoint http://youtu.be/alsyJh3iF6s
Similar batteries are often used to pound the city. In fact, the city came
under such pounding today http://youtu.be/Ev8pUjI8YQM
Elsewhere in
Aleppo Province, the local resistance takes control of a loyalist position http://youtu.be/XhjkcGWd-rc The clashes http://youtu.be/NAcCL_ou1M0 Firing at the
checkpoint from nearby buildings http://youtu.be/MXy4hWVvPIU
, http://youtu.be/WEOUTmBwpPE
The
pounding of Al-Akrad Mountain region in Lattakia Province, continues: Al-Ghanimah
http://youtu.be/GkmWc7GCAeg
The
pounding of Al-Qusayr, Homs Province, continues http://youtu.be/dguAvzB50a0 The pounding
of Talbisseh continues http://youtu.be/gA-pdQDGM78
The
pounding of Old Homs continues: Jobar http://youtu.be/ADhflshrtKw Jouret
Al-Shayah http://youtu.be/YtnO-cV06Tc
Daraa
City
continues to come under sporadic pounding http://youtu.be/SJ_gaVKuXLw
, http://youtu.be/GtjkjpAB_zM
Elsewhere
in Daraa Province, members of local resistance are training themselves http://youtu.be/XhjkcGWd-rc In Al-Jizeh,
the local resistance clash with pro-Assad militias http://youtu.be/2dpayXNnAm8
In Deir
Ezzor City, the pounding is beginning to resemble what is taking place in
Old Homs: Al-Oummal http://youtu.be/6_15BOSEypI
, http://youtu.be/MzbYgdTX5os , http://youtu.be/93pI3dEdlVU Rasafeh
http://youtu.be/wXD78oQUxtY Tanks
patrol and pound their way into neighborhoods http://youtu.be/1CYfuVbmBvg
In Arba’een
Neighborhood, Hama City: pro-Assad militias patrolling the neighborhood http://youtu.be/ut4YG60AwH0 But soon the
tanks is targeted by local resistance http://youtu.be/MZX0ShmZpOU
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