By Daniel Iriarte
ABC
http://www.abc.es/20111216/internacional/abcp-otan-machaque-20111216.html
The reporter witnesses a shootout between the army and the Syrian guerrilla, consisting of Syrian defectors in the mountainous area of Jabel Al-Zawia, in northern Syria, out of control.
The sound of the guns is heard nearer and nearer, and the small squad of Captain Homsi took cover behind a wall to protect against bullets whistling passing over their heads. Opposite, on the other hill, soldiers loyal to President Bashar Assad have consolidated their positions and fired on the small rebel town Idlitab. The redhead Mustafa sits behind a stone wall and slide the barrel of his rifle through a hole. It is the sniper of the group. When triggered, the sound hits us by surprise, like a small explosion. "this sound?” “They are the NATO bombing" the soldiers joke. "Now we win for sure!" Say between laughs. For that matter, the support of NATO (or rather, lack thereof) to the Syrian rebels has become a favorite topic of conversation among the insurgents with foreign journalists. "We are not authorized to comment regarding this matter" said Major Ismail Hayuni to ABC the night before. "Only the Colonel Riad Asaad [the leader of the Syrian Free Army (FSA) exiled in Turkey] can talk about these issues," he apologizes. But here, in the middle of shooting, his peers are less discreet. "Of course we want a no-fly zone! And grind "the Assadists", as it happened in Libya!" Says one soldier. The others nod. It is a fairly widespread opinion among the insurgents, who see combatants and civilians fall every day under fire from Syrian security forces without Assad showing any signs of weakening. Perhaps for this reason, the deserters are obsessed with their image. The regime insists that the perpetrators of violence are "terrorists", mostly foreigners, an idea that has been collected by the Russian government newspaper, Iran and even Venezuela's official media, which torments the insurgents. "Do we look like terrorists? Look, this one was a policeman, this one was State Security agent, and the others were military" says Major Hayuni, pointing to his companions. The guerrillas in Syria "We are patriots who have rebelled against the dictatorship, nothing more," he assures. And the truth is that the vast majority of the of the so fighters the called Free Syrian Army are nothing but former members of the security forces, although some, as ABC has found out, are civilians who have decided to take up arms in recent months. "Pay attention. We have received information that a group of soldiers might try to go to our ranks today through these fields. If that happens, not only should we not shoot at them, but we have to cover them with our fire, "Homsi told the captain to his soldiers. We waited for hours, but eventually desertion does not occur. But leakage of these is constant throughout the country. Many former members of the security forces remain in contact with their former colleagues, trying to convince them to switch sides. But opportunities are scarce, and the punishment too cruel: the deserters who fail are savagely mutilated and tortured to death. Those who succeed are encouraged to record a video showing their old IDs, which will then be posted on the internet. Then, if they got to bring their weapons over, they will be integrated into a combat unit of the FSA, where they retain their former ranks. The lack of weapons is one of the obsessions of these men. Despite rumors of possible support from some NATO countries to the FSA, neither ABC nor any of the journalists in the rebel areas has noted the existence of another Kalashnikov automatic rifles and some Belgian-made Turkish rifles, such as Mustafa the sniper is carrying, who, they say, have bought from smugglers. Today, Idlitab fighters face 15 tanks with just two RPG and these old rifles. "All weapons are those that have brought by the deserters, or those we captured from Assad soldiers. If NATO would have given us weapons a few months ago, we would have won" says Hassan, a former member of "Amn Dawla”, the dreaded state security. Almost all FSA members are Sunni Muslims. "But there is everything: Christians, Alawites, Kurds ..." said a middle-ranking official in charge of the region of Dar Khus, himself an Alawite". “And Druze?" He asks. "No, no Druze" he says. "Yes, there is one!" He corrects another soldier. But the overwhelming majority of Sunnis is explained by the demographics of the country itself, account for more than three quarters of the population, and the percentage is even higher among low-ranking officers of the army, who defected en masse to join the FSA. Hassan card shows its state security, and in your mobile phone, the video in which he declares proudly its new commitment to the insurgency. Just pass the score, but the dark history of "Amin Dawla" leads us to wonder if this guy will have his hands stained with the blood of opponents. However, the guerrillas in Syria, in the "Free Syria", no one asks questions about the past of the combatants for now. The revolution comes first.
Demonstrations in Kan Safra exude a special energy. The Syrians chanted slogans enthusiastically against Assad, because they can do so for the first time after more than four decades with the Baath Party in power. There are those who still sing softly, looking left and right, as a reflection of past fears. In the slogans throughout the country, is perceived deterioration of the situation: "The people want to topple the regime" have become to sing "The people want to execute the president." There is no possible agreement with Bashar Assad. And rebelled cities - Homs, Idlib, Deraa, are being violently hit by Syrian security forces. Kan Safra is "liberated territory" and, despite the fighting in the area, it does not suffer the trickle of bodies of dead protesters taking place elsewhere. But they face harassment from the regime, which tries to submit it by wear. Many supplies have been disrupted, including fuel, and the mobile phone network has been cut in the province of Idlib. Apparently, the presence of civilians is the only thing preventing the regime from razing the rebel positions with artillery. The militant Brahim is concerned. "There's an army checkpoint at the entrance of the road," said the peasant, which means that the escape routes from Jebel Zawia are cut. We feared something like this, so the very few foreign reporters have decided to leave Syria, at the risk of being trapped inside. But it seems that we're late. Finally, after dark, Brahim is a solution. Mobilizes three cars: the first one, the only one with lights, leads the convoy and illuminates the way. There are two members of the rebel organization in civilian clothes in it. There are four armed men as escort in the car that follows, and in the third one, totally dark, the journalists travel. After several hours of waiting at a checkpoint, make us able to cross enemy lines by another point. Brahim laughs, pleased: "The Syrian Army has found an outlet Free!" He says, proudly.
ABC
http://www.abc.es/20111216/internacional/abcp-otan-machaque-20111216.html
The reporter witnesses a shootout between the army and the Syrian guerrilla, consisting of Syrian defectors in the mountainous area of Jabel Al-Zawia, in northern Syria, out of control.
The sound of the guns is heard nearer and nearer, and the small squad of Captain Homsi took cover behind a wall to protect against bullets whistling passing over their heads. Opposite, on the other hill, soldiers loyal to President Bashar Assad have consolidated their positions and fired on the small rebel town Idlitab. The redhead Mustafa sits behind a stone wall and slide the barrel of his rifle through a hole. It is the sniper of the group. When triggered, the sound hits us by surprise, like a small explosion. "this sound?” “They are the NATO bombing" the soldiers joke. "Now we win for sure!" Say between laughs. For that matter, the support of NATO (or rather, lack thereof) to the Syrian rebels has become a favorite topic of conversation among the insurgents with foreign journalists. "We are not authorized to comment regarding this matter" said Major Ismail Hayuni to ABC the night before. "Only the Colonel Riad Asaad [the leader of the Syrian Free Army (FSA) exiled in Turkey] can talk about these issues," he apologizes. But here, in the middle of shooting, his peers are less discreet. "Of course we want a no-fly zone! And grind "the Assadists", as it happened in Libya!" Says one soldier. The others nod. It is a fairly widespread opinion among the insurgents, who see combatants and civilians fall every day under fire from Syrian security forces without Assad showing any signs of weakening. Perhaps for this reason, the deserters are obsessed with their image. The regime insists that the perpetrators of violence are "terrorists", mostly foreigners, an idea that has been collected by the Russian government newspaper, Iran and even Venezuela's official media, which torments the insurgents. "Do we look like terrorists? Look, this one was a policeman, this one was State Security agent, and the others were military" says Major Hayuni, pointing to his companions. The guerrillas in Syria "We are patriots who have rebelled against the dictatorship, nothing more," he assures. And the truth is that the vast majority of the of the so fighters the called Free Syrian Army are nothing but former members of the security forces, although some, as ABC has found out, are civilians who have decided to take up arms in recent months. "Pay attention. We have received information that a group of soldiers might try to go to our ranks today through these fields. If that happens, not only should we not shoot at them, but we have to cover them with our fire, "Homsi told the captain to his soldiers. We waited for hours, but eventually desertion does not occur. But leakage of these is constant throughout the country. Many former members of the security forces remain in contact with their former colleagues, trying to convince them to switch sides. But opportunities are scarce, and the punishment too cruel: the deserters who fail are savagely mutilated and tortured to death. Those who succeed are encouraged to record a video showing their old IDs, which will then be posted on the internet. Then, if they got to bring their weapons over, they will be integrated into a combat unit of the FSA, where they retain their former ranks. The lack of weapons is one of the obsessions of these men. Despite rumors of possible support from some NATO countries to the FSA, neither ABC nor any of the journalists in the rebel areas has noted the existence of another Kalashnikov automatic rifles and some Belgian-made Turkish rifles, such as Mustafa the sniper is carrying, who, they say, have bought from smugglers. Today, Idlitab fighters face 15 tanks with just two RPG and these old rifles. "All weapons are those that have brought by the deserters, or those we captured from Assad soldiers. If NATO would have given us weapons a few months ago, we would have won" says Hassan, a former member of "Amn Dawla”, the dreaded state security. Almost all FSA members are Sunni Muslims. "But there is everything: Christians, Alawites, Kurds ..." said a middle-ranking official in charge of the region of Dar Khus, himself an Alawite". “And Druze?" He asks. "No, no Druze" he says. "Yes, there is one!" He corrects another soldier. But the overwhelming majority of Sunnis is explained by the demographics of the country itself, account for more than three quarters of the population, and the percentage is even higher among low-ranking officers of the army, who defected en masse to join the FSA. Hassan card shows its state security, and in your mobile phone, the video in which he declares proudly its new commitment to the insurgency. Just pass the score, but the dark history of "Amin Dawla" leads us to wonder if this guy will have his hands stained with the blood of opponents. However, the guerrillas in Syria, in the "Free Syria", no one asks questions about the past of the combatants for now. The revolution comes first.
Demonstrations
Demonstrations in Kan Safra exude a special energy. The Syrians chanted slogans enthusiastically against Assad, because they can do so for the first time after more than four decades with the Baath Party in power. There are those who still sing softly, looking left and right, as a reflection of past fears. In the slogans throughout the country, is perceived deterioration of the situation: "The people want to topple the regime" have become to sing "The people want to execute the president." There is no possible agreement with Bashar Assad. And rebelled cities - Homs, Idlib, Deraa, are being violently hit by Syrian security forces. Kan Safra is "liberated territory" and, despite the fighting in the area, it does not suffer the trickle of bodies of dead protesters taking place elsewhere. But they face harassment from the regime, which tries to submit it by wear. Many supplies have been disrupted, including fuel, and the mobile phone network has been cut in the province of Idlib. Apparently, the presence of civilians is the only thing preventing the regime from razing the rebel positions with artillery. The militant Brahim is concerned. "There's an army checkpoint at the entrance of the road," said the peasant, which means that the escape routes from Jebel Zawia are cut. We feared something like this, so the very few foreign reporters have decided to leave Syria, at the risk of being trapped inside. But it seems that we're late. Finally, after dark, Brahim is a solution. Mobilizes three cars: the first one, the only one with lights, leads the convoy and illuminates the way. There are two members of the rebel organization in civilian clothes in it. There are four armed men as escort in the car that follows, and in the third one, totally dark, the journalists travel. After several hours of waiting at a checkpoint, make us able to cross enemy lines by another point. Brahim laughs, pleased: "The Syrian Army has found an outlet Free!" He says, proudly.
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