THE HOULA MASSACRE: Opposition Terrorists "Killed Families Loyal to the Government"
Detailed Investigation
By Marat Musin
Global Research, June 1, 2012
URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=31184
Global Research Editor's Note
This incisive report by independent Russian journalist Marat Musin dispels the lies and fabrications of the Western media.
The report is based on a chronology of events as well as eyewitness accounts. Entire pro-government families in Houla were massacred. The terrorists integrated by professional mercenaries were not pro-government militia as conveyed in chorus by the mainstream media, they were in large part mercenaries and professional killers operating under the auspices of the self-proclaimed Free Syrian Army (FSA):
"When the rebels seized the lower checkpoint in the center of town and located next to the local police department, they began to sweep all the families loyal to the authorities in neighboring houses, including the elderly, women and children.
Several families of the Al-Sayed were killed, including 20 young children and the family of the Abdul Razak.
The people were killed with knives and shot at point blank range. Then they presented the murdered to the UN and the international community as victims of bombings by the Syrian army, something
that was not verified by any marks on their bodies."
We call on our readers to forward this report far and wide. The massacre in Houla is being blamed on the Syrian government without a shred of evidence. The objective is not only to isolate Syria but to develop a pretext and a justification for waging an R2P humanitarian war on Syria.
It is essential to reverse the tide of war propaganda which uses civilian deaths as a pretext to wage war, when those civilians deaths were carried out not by the government but by professional terrorists operating under the helm of the US-NATO supported Free Syrian Army.
Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, Montreal, June 1, 2012
This incisive report by independent Russian journalist Marat Musin dispels the lies and fabrications of the Western media.
The report is based on a chronology of events as well as eyewitness accounts. Entire pro-government families in Houla were massacred. The terrorists integrated by professional mercenaries were not pro-government militia as conveyed in chorus by the mainstream media, they were in large part mercenaries and professional killers operating under the auspices of the self-proclaimed Free Syrian Army (FSA):
"When the rebels seized the lower checkpoint in the center of town and located next to the local police department, they began to sweep all the families loyal to the authorities in neighboring houses, including the elderly, women and children.
Several families of the Al-Sayed were killed, including 20 young children and the family of the Abdul Razak.
The people were killed with knives and shot at point blank range. Then they presented the murdered to the UN and the international community as victims of bombings by the Syrian army, something
that was not verified by any marks on their bodies."
We call on our readers to forward this report far and wide. The massacre in Houla is being blamed on the Syrian government without a shred of evidence. The objective is not only to isolate Syria but to develop a pretext and a justification for waging an R2P humanitarian war on Syria.
It is essential to reverse the tide of war propaganda which uses civilian deaths as a pretext to wage war, when those civilians deaths were carried out not by the government but by professional terrorists operating under the helm of the US-NATO supported Free Syrian Army.
Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, Montreal, June 1, 2012
In the weekend of May 25, 2012, at about 2 PM, big groups of fighters attacked and captured the town of Al – Hula of the Homs province. Al-Hula is made up of three regions: the village of Taldou, Kafr Laha and Taldahab, each of which had previously been home for 25-30 thousand people.
The town was attacked from the north-east by groups
of bandits and mercenaries, numbering up to 700 people. The militants
came from Ar-Rastan (the Brigade of al-Farouk from the Free Syrian Army
led by the terrorist Abdul Razak Tlass and numbering 250), from the
village of Akraba (led by the terrorist Yahya Al-Yousef), from the
village Farlaha, joined by local gangsters, and from Al Hula.
The city of Ar-Rastan has long been abandoned by most
civilians. Now Wahhabis from Lebanon dominate the scene, fueled with
money and weapons by one of the main orchestrators of international
terrorism, Saad Hariri, who heads the anti-Syrian political movement
“Tayyar Al-Mustaqbal” (“Future Movement”). The road from Ar-Rastan to
Al-Hula runs through Bedouin areas that remain mostly out of control of
government troops, which made the militant attacks on Al Hula a complete
surprise for the Syrian authorities.
When the rebels seized the lower checkpoint in the
center of town and located next to the local police department, they
began to sweep all the families loyal to the authorities in neighboring
houses, including the elderly, women and children. Several families of
the Al-Sayed were killed, including 20 young children and the family of
the Abdul Razak. Many of those killed were “guilty” of the fact that
they dared to change from Sunnis to Shiites. The people were killed with
knives and shot at point blank range. Then they presented the murdered
to the UN and the international community as victims of bombings by the
Syrian army, something that was not verified by any marks on their
bodies.
The idea that the UN observers had heard artillery
fire against Al-Houla in the Safir Hotel in Homs at night I consider
nothing short of a bad joke. 50 kilometers lie between Homs and
Al-Houla. What kind of tanks or guns has this range? Yes, there was
intensive gunfire in Homs until 3 am, including heavy weapons. But, to
give an example, on the night of Monday to Tuesday shooting was due to
an attempt by law enforcement to regain control for a security corridor
along the road to Damascus, Tarik Al-Sham.
After a visual inspection of Al Hula it is impossible
to find traces of any of fresh destruction, bombing and shelling.
During the day, several attacks by gunmen are made on the last remaining
soldiers at the Taldou checkpoint. Militants used heavy weapons and
snipers made up of professional mercenaries were active.
Note that once, the exactly same provocation failed
at Shumar (Homs) and 49 militants and women and children were killed,
when it was organized just before a visit of Kofi Annan. The last
provocation was immediately exposed as soon as it became known that the
bodies of the previously kidnapped belonged to Alawites. This
provocation also contained serious inconsistencies – the names of those
killed were from people loyal to the authorities, there were no traces
of bombings, etc.
However, the provocation machine is running all the
same. Today, the NATO countries directly threat to bomb Syria, and a
simultaneous expulsion of Syrian diplomats has begun As of today, there
are no troops within the city of Al Hula, but there are regularly heard
bursts of automatic fire, nonetheless. Moreover, it is unclear whether
the militants are fighting with each other, or whether supporters
of Bashar al-Assad are being cleaned out.
Militants opened fire on virtually everyone who tries to get closer to the border town. Before us a UN convoy was fired upon and two armored jeeps of the UN observers were damaged, when they tried to drive up to an army checkpoint in Tal Dow.
Militants opened fire on virtually everyone who tries to get closer to the border town. Before us a UN convoy was fired upon and two armored jeeps of the UN observers were damaged, when they tried to drive up to an army checkpoint in Tal Dow.
In the attack on
the convoy a twenty-year-old terrorist was spotted. The fire was
directed on the unprotected slopes of the first jeep, the back door of
the second armored car was hooked by a fragment. There are wounded among
those accompanying.
According to a wounded soldier:
“The next day, UN observers came to us at the checkpoint and as soon as they arrived, gunmen opened fire on them. And three of us were injured. One was wounded in the leg, the second – in the back, and I was hit in the hip.
According to a wounded soldier:
“The next day, UN observers came to us at the checkpoint and as soon as they arrived, gunmen opened fire on them. And three of us were injured. One was wounded in the leg, the second – in the back, and I was hit in the hip.
When the
observers came, they could hear a woman who was standing next to them
and cried, the woman stood and pleaded the observers’ help – to protect
her from the bandits. When I was wounded, the observers watched as I
fell, but none of them tried to help. Our checkpoint no longer exists.
There are no civilians any longer in Taldou, only militants remain. Our
relationship to the locals was excellent. They are very good to us; they
called on the army to enter Taldou. We were attacked by snipers.”
Unfortunately, many of the militants are professional
snipers. 100-200 meters from our group TV-crew, militants attacked a
BMP that went to replace soldiers at the checkpoint. During this a
soldier – draftee got a concussion and slight tangential wound in the
head by a sniper bullet. Looking at the pierced Kevlar helmet, it seems
he did not even realize that he survived by a miracle.
Snipers kill up to 10 soldiers and policemen at
checkpoints each day. It is true, that the daily casualties of law
enforcement agencies in Homs were dozens of victims daily. But,
unfortunately, at 10 am, six dead soldiers were taken to the morgue.
Most were killed by a shot in the head. And the day had just begun
So, these are the names of those were killed by snipers in the early morning hours of May 29:
1. Sergeant Ibrahim Halyuf
2. Sergeant Salman Ibrahim
3. Policeman Mahmoud Danaver
4. Conscript Ali Daher
5. Sergeant Wisam Haidar
6. the dead soldier’s family name could not be clarified
2. Sergeant Salman Ibrahim
3. Policeman Mahmoud Danaver
4. Conscript Ali Daher
5. Sergeant Wisam Haidar
6. the dead soldier’s family name could not be clarified
The bandits even fired an automatic burst on our
group of journalists, although it was clear that this is a normal
filming crew, consisting of unarmed civilians.
HOW THE ATTACK BEGAN
After Friday prayers at about 2 PM on May, 25th a
group from the Al Aksh clan started firing on a checkpoint of law
enforcement officers from mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.
Returning fire from a BRDM hit the mosque, and this was the very aim to
lead to a bigger provocation.
Then, two groups of militants led by the terrorist
Nidal Bakkour and Al-Hassan from the Al Hallak clan, supported by a unit
of mercenaries, attacked the upper checkpoint on the eastern outskirts
of the city. At 15.30 the upper checkpoint was taken, and all the
prisoners executed: a Sunni conscript had his throat cut, while Abdullah
Shaui (Bedouin) of Deir-Zor was burned alive.
During the attack on the upper checkpoint in the east
the armed men lost 25 people, which were then submitted to the UN
observers, together with the 108 dead civilians – “victims of the
regime”, allegedly killed by bombing and shelling of the Syrian army. As
for the remaining 83 bodies, including 38 young children, they were
from the families that were executed by militants. These families were
all loyal to the government of Syria.
Interviews:
with a law enforcement officer:
“My name is Al Khosam, I am a law enforcement officer. I served in the village of Taldou, the district of Al-Hula, a province of Homs. On Friday, our checkpoint was attacked by a large group of militants. There were thousands.
with a law enforcement officer:
“My name is Al Khosam, I am a law enforcement officer. I served in the village of Taldou, the district of Al-Hula, a province of Homs. On Friday, our checkpoint was attacked by a large group of militants. There were thousands.
Q: How do you protect yourself?
Answer: A simple weapon. We had 20 people, we called support, and when they were coming for us, I was wounded, and regained consciousness in the hospital. The attackers were from Ar-Rastan and Al-Hula. Insurgents control Taldou. They burned houses and killed people by the families, because they were loyal to the government. Raped the women and killed the children.”
Answer: A simple weapon. We had 20 people, we called support, and when they were coming for us, I was wounded, and regained consciousness in the hospital. The attackers were from Ar-Rastan and Al-Hula. Insurgents control Taldou. They burned houses and killed people by the families, because they were loyal to the government. Raped the women and killed the children.”
Interview with a wounded soldier:
“I am Ahmed Mahmoud al Khali. I’m from the city Manbej. Was wounded in Taldou. I come from a support group that came to the aid of our comrades, who were stationed at the checkpoint.
“I am Ahmed Mahmoud al Khali. I’m from the city Manbej. Was wounded in Taldou. I come from a support group that came to the aid of our comrades, who were stationed at the checkpoint.
Militants destroyed two infantry fighting vehicles
and one BRDM standing at our checkpoint. We moved out to Taldou in a
BMP, to pick up our wounded comrades from the checkpoint within the
city. We drove them back in the BMP, and I filled in their place.
And after a while the UN observers came. They came to us, we led them to the homes of families who were cut by thugs.
I saw a family of three brothers and their father in
the same room. In another room we found dead young children and their
mother. And another one- an old man killed in this house. Only five men,
women and children. The woman raped and shot in the head, I covered her
with a blanket. And the commission had seen them all. They put them in
the car and drove away. I do not know where they took them, probably for
burial.”
A resident of Taldou on the roof of the police department:
“On Friday afternoon I was home. Hearing the shots, I
came out to watch what was happening and saw that the fire came from
the north side, towards the location of army checkpoint. As the army did
not respond, they started to approach the homes, were subsequently the
family was killed. When the army started to return fire, they used the
women and children as human shields and continued firing at the
checkpoint. When the army began answered, they fled. After that, the
army took the surviving women and children and brought them into safety.
At this time, Al Jazeera aired pictures and said that the Army
committed the massacre at Al Hula.
In fact, they killed the civilians and children in
Al-Hula. The bandits did not allow anyone to carry out their work. They
steal everything that they can get their hands on: wheat, flour, oil and
gas. Most of the fighters are from the city of Ar Rastan.”
After they captured the city, they carried the bodies
of their dead comrades, as well as the bodies of people and the
children they killed to the mosque. They carried the bodies in KIA
pickups. On May, 25th, at around 8 PM, the corpses were already in the
mosque. The next day at 11 o’clock in the morning the UN observers
arrived at the mosque.
Media Disinformation
To exert pressure on public opinion and change the positions of Russia and China, texts and subtitles in Russian and Chinese languages were prepared in advance, reading: “Syria – Homs – the city of Hula. A terrible massacre perpetrated by the armed forces of the Syrian regime against civilians in the town of Hula. Dozens of victims and their number is growing, mainly women and children, brutally killed by indiscriminate bombing of the CITY.”
To exert pressure on public opinion and change the positions of Russia and China, texts and subtitles in Russian and Chinese languages were prepared in advance, reading: “Syria – Homs – the city of Hula. A terrible massacre perpetrated by the armed forces of the Syrian regime against civilians in the town of Hula. Dozens of victims and their number is growing, mainly women and children, brutally killed by indiscriminate bombing of the CITY.”
Two days later, on May 27, after the residents’
stories and video recordings made showed that the facts do not support
the allegation of shelling and bombing, the bandits’ videos had
undergone significant changes. At the end of the text appeared this
postscript: “And some were killed with knives.”
Marat Musin, Olga Kulygina, Al-Hula, Syria
The translation is based on the impressive work of
Soldatovich and Elena. Thank you very much for the translation of this
text about the recent events near the Syrian city of Homs and in the
area of al-Houlah.
