Investigating Claims Of Syrian Opposition Members Executing Prisoners

The following video, titled "FSA Terrorists Massacre Imprisoned Syrian Army Soldiers in Quneitra, Golan Heights (18+)", was posted on the YouTube channel Eretz Zen War Vids, claiming to show evidence that Syrian opposition groups executed prisoners.  The video description states

This two-part video shows strong evidence that militants from the "Free Syrian Army" (FSA) massacred Syrian Army soldiers from the Fourth Platoon of Brigade 61 in Harak town of Quneitra province, in Syria's southern Golan Heights area. The FSA terrorists also attacked a UN outpost in that area before getting to the Syrian Army location.
The participating FSA brigades include Grandsons of the Prophet Brigades, Blessing of the Compassionate Brigade, Martyr Salah al-Jolani Brigade, Freedom Martyrs Brigade, and Sibteen Brigade.
Warning: Graphic content (not for shock, 18+, not for faint-hearted, viewer discretion advised, aimed only at documenting crimes by FSA terrorists in Syria)

In this post I hope to take a closer look at this video, but also highlight some of the ways in which the person producing this video could have helped anyone trying to investigate the claims made in the video, for example news organisations who might have wanted to cover it.

When I see a video like this that's been edited, the first thing I want to find it the original source videos, to confirm the uploaded date, original description, and other details.  Whenever I upload copies of videos onto my YouTube channel, I include details from the original video, including a link to the original video (for example here), so even if the video is deleted the original information that was attached to the video is preserved.  In the case of the above video, that information hasn't been included, so that means I have to go find it myself.  That's okay for someone like me who spends all day looking at videos from Syria, but you can't expect a journalist to do that, or even know how to do it effectively, so it's best to make life easy for them.

Fortunately, the person creating the above video took screenshots of the channels they took the videos from, so after asking for help to get the names typed out in Arabic, I put them into YouTube search.  Again, this is a step that could have been skipped if those names and links were just put into the YouTube description.

That came up with two YouTube channels where I found the two videos.  It's always best to find the original channels these videos were posted on, as that's where you'll find all the original information, and if the video has been posted elsewhere by the groups involved (Facebook for example) then you can just paste the video URL into Google, and see where it appears.

The first video, showing the men still alive, was posted on a channel that translates to News Center Free Syria.  Frequently, the channels used to post original videos are named after local areas or opposition groups, so that's the first clue it might not be the original channel the video was uploaded to.  If you then take a look at the list of videos on the channel, you'll also note there's whole variety of different logos on the videos, for example:

This is a pretty strong indication this isn't a channel that posts original videos, so now we need to find the original channel.  Some channels that repost videos use the exact same title as the original video, so that's one place to start, and in the case of this video it's also worth searching for just the name of the town the video was filmed in.  For those of us who don't speak Arabic that means copying the title of the video into Google Translate, then figuring out which word is the name of the town (which in this case translates to "mobility"), then hovering over the English word with the mouse cursor, which highlights the word in the original Arabic text.  Copy and paste that into YouTube search, and away you go.

This will bring up a number of videos, so then it's a case of browsing through the video, looking for ones with matching previews, and seeing which was posted first.  In the case of this video, the first appearance appears to be on the YouTube channel Mhmad Samoor.  Judging from the video descriptions, this channel is posting videos for the local media centre, and generally all media centres have a Facebook page.  So, more copying of Arabic text into Google Translate, and this time we want the name of the media centre.  Paste that into Google, and we get results for Facebook pages with that name.  The results in this case includes this page and this page, both long established pages posting news from the area the video was reportedly filmed in, and both pages features posts made on November 11th featuring the video, (here and here).  So for the first video, we've established the video has been posted on a YouTube channel used by local media centres, the videos have been shared on the Facebook pages of those groups, and what that does is help build the evidence that these videos are authentic.  It seems like a lot of work, but when I'm writing about videos that show significant events, such as war crimes, I'm thinking about getting as much evidence as possible they are authentic.

The second video, showing the corpses of the men in the first video, was taken from the YouTube channel of Liwa Tabaruk ar-Rahman.  They rather handily link their Facebook page in some of the descriptions of their YouTube videos.  Although they don't link the video of the dead men on their Facebook page, they do link other videos from that channel on the Facebook page, dated before and after the video of the dead men.  This gives a great deal of weight to this video being genuine.

At this point we've established the videos are almost certainly genuine, so the question is now, do they match?

The most obvious thing to check is the clothes the men are wearing

Right-to-left
1 - Green shirt, black trousers, bare feet.
2 - Black jacket, camouflage trousers, black shoes/socks.
3 - Greenish stripped shirt, blue jeans, blue socks/shoes with white stripes.

4 - Camouflage jacket, blue jeans, bare feet.
5 - Black jacket with a blue trim, camouflage trousers, black shoes/socks.
6 - Camouflage jacket, blue jeans, bare feet.

Of course, clothes can be moved and changed, especially shoes or socks being removed, or jackets being removed or opened, so that should be kept in mind.  Unfortunately in the video of the bodies isn't very good quality, but there's some matches that seem pretty clear

This is clearly a strong match for man number three, same shirt, same blue jeans, and wearing some sort of footwear.  Two of the dead men match the description of two men in the video that wore black jackets, camouflage trousers, and black shoes/socks

However, in the video showing the men alive, one man clearly has no facial hair like the man in the bottom picture

It's also worth noting that one man appears to be absent from this, number 1 in the first video, wearing a green shirt, black trousers, and no footwear.

The video quality isn't great, but among the men there's at least some matches of clothing, but there's also something else that matches in the two videos, pointing towards this being the same incident

In the background of both videos we can clearly see the same debris, in particular two distinct yellow containers, as well as other debris.

It should always be kept in mind during these types of investigations that videos of the same incident may have been posted elsewhere, so it's worth searching for video uploaded using other keywords, such as other names used to describe the location, or names of other opposition groups that were operating in that area at the same time.  In the case of this incident, there was in fact another group operating in the area who filmed the same group of bodies, but much more clearly

The video's narrator doesn't provide too much additional information

Allah Akbar, dead bodies from Assad's dogs inside 4th platoon, aka Khaldoun platoon, after it was liberated by Gurabaa’a Horan Liwa, that belongs to Ahfad al Rassoul (Grandsons of the prophet) group.

But it does give a much clearer view of the dead men, and we can see, as with the video showing the living men, there's two men with camouflage jackets, blue jeans, bare feet.

So it seems certain at least one of the men in the video showing them alive was killed, and also very likely four more of the men were also killed, with the sixth man absent from the videos showing the dead men.

It seems from these videos that these men were killed after they were captured, despite the claims in the Liwa Tabaruk ar-Rahman video they were killed in an ambush.  As there were a number of groups involved in this operation it's unclear which specific group was responsible, but it seems highly unlikely it would have been anyone but one of those opposition groups.

Many thanks to all the people who contributed to this post, including everyone at Storyful's Open Newsroom.  On going discussion of these videos can be found here.

You can also find France 24 Arabic's report on these videos here.

You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

Prominent Daraa Based Activist Nasser Abu Jamal Killed

Anyone who watches many of the videos from Syria is probably familiar with this activist from Daraa, Nasser Abu Jamal

He's featured in many of the videos that have come from the Daraa region, including the well known video showing FSA fighters being taught how to use Croatian weapons

Graphic video was published show Nasser injured this week, and it's now been reported he has died from his injures

Media activist Abudl Naser al-Sahnbouri, aka Abu Jamal, was one of the uprising’s most prominent activists. He used to risk his life covering events on the front lines of the battles fought between the FSA and the criminal Assad’s troops in various parts of our beloved Daraa. He was injured many times before he died, whether because of violent bombardment or snipers’ fire; the last time before his death he was hit with a sniper bullet in his shoulder when he was in the town of Kafr Shams, covering the battle of “Izzaa”. Abu Jamal filmed many videos and toured various parts of Daraa. He was born in 1989 (the comments under the post say 1984), married with three kids. Prior to the uprising, he used to live in Damascus, but moved to Daraa with the start of the revolution in order to cover it and document the atrocities committed against the civilians and to convey the truth. Abu Jamal studied Sharia besides being an imam and an orator. A few days ago, the Islamist and FSA battalions announced the launching of an offensive dubbed “Uniting the Ranks” which was aimed at capturing the military checkpoints and barracks in the west of the province, and  to be followed by capturing Daraa city. Today, Abu Jamal was covering the fierce battles in the town of Tafas when he was injured by shrapnel in his belly. While he was being given first aid he asked those around him to take care of his wife and kids. Due to lack of medical staff in the field hospital he was later moved to Jordan where he died. His liver was severely injured. He died in Al-Jazeera hospital in Jordan.

Update October 5th EA Worldview has more information on him here.
You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com.

The Opposition In Daraa Deploys Armoured Vehicles As the Aleppoisation Of Southern Syria Continues

Since the beginning of this year opposition groups in the south of Syria have begun to make significant advances in what was once an almost forgotten part of the conflict.  Previously poorly equipped, the arrival of weapons purchased from Croatia by Saudi Arabia and smuggled to the opposition from Jordan has appeared to play a major part in these advances, with many of these major gains accompanied by videos of these weapons in use.

This is part of what I like to call the "Aleppoisation" of Southern Syria.  What I mean by this is that I believe what we are seeing in the Daraa region and it's environs mirrors what has occurred in the Aleppo region over the past year.  Simply put, we saw the opposition in the north acquiring increasingly powerful weapons, which allowed them to move from attacking checkpoints to increasingly larger military bases, allowing them access to more anti-aircraft weapons, which provided the protection to deploy armoured vehicles and artillery, which were then used to attack even larger bases.

Early fighting in the Daraa region resulted in the capture of smaller bases, including an air-base near El Sahoah, north-east of Daraa city, where a number of armoured vehicles and artillery pieces were captured, a couple of examples of which are shown below

Other bases with armoured vehicles and other useful equipment were captured, and on March 23rd the capture of the 38th Division Air Defense Base, just east of Daraa city and located on the major Damascus-Amman highway, resulted in a large amount of equipment being captured, including SA-7 MANPADS, much needed air defence equipment for the opposition in that region

As the Institute for the Study of War report on the situation in the south of the country noted:

Syrian MP Walid al-Zoubi conceded the significance of this loss to the regime in a speech to the Syrian Parliament in which he said “the most important military position” in the region fell because the regime lost control of the highway from Khirbet Ghazaleh to the border

A few days later the capture of Dael, located on a strategic highway from Damascus to Daraa, reflected the strategy used in the north of the country of capturing key routes, isolating government forces in towns and bases across the region, before attacking them directly, all the while using their increasing arsenal to take on larger and more difficult targets.

Since then fighting has focused on a number of areas, including the opposition held town of Khirbet Ghazaleh, located east of Dael, and on the same major highway as the 38th Division Air Defense Base.  Again, this reflects the strategy used in the north, and in the last few days it appears that groups based in that town have begun using armoured vehicles for the first time in the Daraa region.  Here's a couple of examples

It seems increasingly there's evidence of the same pattern of events unfolding in the south of the country as we've seen in the north, and it's very likely there will be more attacks on bases in the region, more attempts to capture towns on major routes, and an increasingly well-armed opposition.  What makes this significant is Daraa is pretty much on Damascus' doorstep, so the reaction of government forces to these advances will no doubt have a greater sense of urgency to them.  It is interesting to note the arrival of more Croatian weapons in the south of the country in recent weeks, this time RAK 12 multiple rocket launchers, a significant step up in the type of weapons provided to the opposition, and with reports of thousands of tonnes of weapons transferred from Croatia to Jordan I have to wonder if the Syrian government can expect more surprises from the opposition in Daraa in the coming months.


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You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

Early Signs Of The "Aleppoisation" Of Southern Syria

Since the arrival of weapons purchased from Croatia by Saudi Arabia, and smuggled into Syria from Jordan, there's been a significant increase in opposition activity in the south of the country, centering around Daraa.  There's been a number of reports of military bases being over-run by armed groups using these weapons, and various equipment captured from these bases.

When talking about the south of the country one thing that's very important is understanding the difference in equipment between that region and other parts of the country.  Generally the opposition in the south have been poorly equipped compared to the groups in the north and around Deir Ez-Zor, so the arrival of large amounts of anti-tank weapons has made a significant difference.

One of the most significant recent acquisitions, reportedly from captured bases, are MANPADS, with the following videos showing examples reportedly captured from a number of locations in the south

We can see why this could be very significant by looking at how events played out in the north of the country.  As the opposition in the north captured more bases and more equipment it allowed them to attack increasingly heavily defended bases, with the capture of anti-aircraft weapons, like MANPADS, allowing them to defend from attacks from the air, which in turn meant they could deploy captured artillery and tanks, which were essential in attacking heavily defended bases.

So what I believe we are seeing in the south of the country is what I like to call "Aleppoisation", where we're now seeing in the south of the country the same sequence of events that led to the current situation in the Aleppo region.  As far as I can tell the arrival of the Croatian weapons played a key role in this turn of events, and in the coming months it could be highly significant.


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You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

Evidence Of Jabhat al-Nusra With Croatian Weapons

In recent weeks I've been tracking the spread of arms purchased from Croatia by Saudi Arabia which were then sent to what were meant to be moderate Free Syrian Army groups via Jordan.  Already there's been examples of groups such as Ahrar al-Sham and other militant Islamist groups using these weapons, and there's now evidence that Jabhat al-Nusra has been using these weapons.

This first image of a M79 Osa  titled "One of JAN lions fighting to liberate Alsahweh brigade", taken from this Jabhat al-Nusra statement, comes from a joint operation with other opposition groups to capture a military base outside of Al Sahweh, Daraa that took place in the middle of February, and involved a number of groups using a large number of weapons provided by Saudi Arabia from Croatia in the battle.

The second image is taken from this report, and shows a M60 recoilless gun being used to attack an army outpost, Hajez Barad, in Busr al-Harir, Daraa, on March 2nd.  From late December 2012 onwards Busr al-Harir has been the scene of heavy fighting when multiple opposition groups attacked Syrian army forces in the town using large numbers of the Croatian weapons provided by Saudi Arabia.

In both cases multiple opposition groups were involved with the fighting, many of which were the original intended recipients of these weapons, so it's possible that Jabhat al-Nusra received these weapons from those groups during the battles.  It's unclear how many weapons they received, but it'll be another aspect of the Croatian arms story I'll be tracking in the coming weeks and months.

Thanks to @troublejee for his help with this piece.

Update March 28th 2013 This video from Al Jazeera Arabic shows a M79 Osa in the hands of Jabhat al-Nusra in Damascus.


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You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com

Are Yugoslavian Anti-Tank Weapons Being Smuggled Into Syria?

In the past few weeks a number of videos have been appearing from the Horan region of Syria showing a new type of rocket launcher, one that I believe had not been seen in use by the Syrian opposition until recent weeks

The weapon featured in the above videos is the M79 Osa anti-tank weapon, originally manufactured in Yugoslavia, and now manufactured in Serbia, the Republic of Macedonia, and in Croatia as the RL90 M95.  Apart from a controversial report claiming they had been sold to the Syria government it appears the Syrian military does not use M79 Osas, and having watched pretty much every video of captured equipment that's come out of Syria I've never seen them being looted from the Syrian military by the opposition.  So this leaves the question of how the Syrian opposition are getting their hands on them.  Two videos from Syrian State TV may provide some clues.  First of all this video showing a haul of captured equipment, which gets very excited about the presence of Made In Israel bandages and "Israeli" M72 LAW anti tank weapons, but also features something else relevant to M79 Osas

Here we get a clear view of the markings, stating it's a M79 90mm round, and a good shot of the rocket container

The M79 rockets come in containers that attach to the rear of the rocket launcher, images of which can be seen here.  We also have a second video from State TV showing what's claimed to be a large haul of seized weapons, which includes well over 100 M79 rocket containers

Now State TV has a less than stellar track record when it comes to accurately reporting events, but what's interesting about the above video is State TV claims it was filmed in Daraa, in the Horan region, where the vast majority of the M79 Osa videos have been coming from.

Does this prove these are being smuggled into Syria?  It's hard to be certain, with the status of the report on their sale to Syria being up in the air, and State TVs past issues with reporting events in a truthful manner, but it's something worth keeping an eye on in he future.


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You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com