Showing posts with label The Qubair Massacre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Qubair Massacre. Show all posts

Thursday, 26 July 2012

The Head Of The Investigation Into The Qubair Massacre Defects To The Syrian Opposition

A couple of weeks ago activists reported that Talal Houshan, who had been appointed by the Syrian government to investigate the Qubair Massacre, had defected to the opposition, with claims he had evidence that the Syrian government was responsible for event in Qubair.  Now a video has emerged showing him announcing his defection (English subtitled version here)
In the video he says he witnessed many corpses of woman and children transferred to his city, Muhardeh, and he found that during the analysis of the wounds on the corpses that they had been shot from less than half a meter away, with an eye witness assuring him it was pro-Assad groups responsible (thanks to @troublejee for translation).  This was apparently enough to trigger his defection to the opposition.  Whether or not he has more detailed evidence is yet to be seen.

Related Posts
Syria - The Qubair Massacre
Syria - The Qubair Massacre - Evidence Gathered So Far

You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com
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Friday, 8 June 2012

Syria - The Qubair Massacre - Evidence Gathered So Far

After blogging about events in Qubair earlier on in the week I thought it would be worth gathering what little evidence has been collected from Qubair so far.  Due to it's small size and isolation there was very little evidence gathered at the time of the massacre, and since then UN monitors and journalists have been unable to reach the location until today.

This extremely graphic video (with English subtitles) is what appears to be the earliest video from Qubair.  It shows the bodies of over a dozen victims, including young children and women, some of whom have been burnt.

UPDATE June 9th Here's two additional videos that appears to have been filmed in the same location judging by the carpet, one, two, and a third video filmed in an unknown location.

I'm unclear exactly where that video was filmed, as the timeline of events in Qubair is still unclear.  According to witnesses the town was attacked by tanks, then shabiha entered the town and started killing and burning buildings.  There were then reports that the shabiha took bodies from Qubair and dragged them around a nearby village, and at some point returned to clear up the rest of the bodies.  The question then is where and when was the previous video filmed?  Did the shabiha abandon the village, then return later to clear up the bodies?

UPDATE June 9th - According to HamaEcho the above video was filmed in a nearby village and the "man who uploaded it is from the Nuami family so I assume in Ma'arzaf village".  It appears that after the killings took place people from a neighbouring village gathered at least some of the dead, but it's unclear if all the bodies were moved at that point.  That might explain some of the later reports of a civilian pickup truck arriving after the massacre and taking the bodies away.  HamaEcho added "some local residents said there was too much gunfire to take all the bodies out."

This video filmed at an unknown time has the cameraman examining the debris throughout the village and entering buildings, but appears to show no human corpses, which suggests it may have been filmed after the village had been cleared of bodies:
Update June 10th Syrian Scenes has now posted a version of the above video with English subtitles, which you can view here.

Before the UN and reporters from the BBC and Sky News arrived at Qubair on June 8th witnesses began to describe what they had seen, such as this video in Arabic

Update June 14th The above video has now been translated.

Another witness spoke to Reuters by phone
"There was smoke rising from the buildings and a horrible smell of human flesh burning," said a man who told how he had watched Syrian troops and "shabbiha" gunmen attack his village as he hid in his family olive grove.

"It was like a ghost town," he told Reuters by telephone, asking not to be named because he feared for his safety.

"After the army fired on one area, security forces and shabbiha would go inside the houses. I heard gunshots inside three houses, then I saw them come out and burn them," the witness said.

"Most of the time I couldn't hear anything over the artillery fire ... By 8 p.m., they were finished."

"After the shabbiha and tanks left, the first thing I did was run to my house. It was burned. All seven people from my house were killed. I saw bodies on the stairs, the bathroom and bedroom. They were all burned."
On June 8th a convoy on UN vehicles, along with Paul Danahar from the BBC and Tim Marshall of Sky News, both UK broadcasters, arrived in Qubair.  Paul Danahar Tweeted from the scene:
We went down into a valley & we've headed up towards a handful of small squat buildings. One seems to have a hole blown out by an RPG.

We are here. In front of a burnt out building is carcass of a donkey inside the buildings are gutted. The UN have not found any people yet.

In front of me there is a piece of brain, in the corner there is a mass on congealed blood. This is a house in Qubair. #Syria

The largest of the two houses on the hill top in Qubair has been gutted by fire. The stench of burnt flesh is still strong.

The flies found the evidence of the Qubair massacre before UN got there. They buzzed & swooped around what remained of the tiny community.

The first house had been gutted by fire but the stench of burnt flesh still hung heavy in the air. The scene in next house was even worse.

Blood was in pools around the room. Pieces of flesh lay among the scattered possession[s].

Butchering the people didn't satisfy the blood lust of the attackers so they killed the live stock too. Their carcasses rotting in the sun.

The only clue to where the bodies of the people may have gone are etched into the road. UN said they were tracks made by military vehicles.

Whoever did this may have acted with mindless violence but attempts to cover up the details of the atrocity are calculated & clear. #Syria
He also gave a number of audio reports describing what he had seen.  In this one from BBC Newshour he describes a "scorched earth policy", and they spoke to a man from a nearby village who says after the events took place "a civilian pickup truck arrived and carried the bodies away".  He was also told by witnesses that sticks were used to children, which can be still seen at the scene, and it appears the villagers were caught by surprise.

In this next audio clip he says "villagers have told us that men came into this village, they have sprayed this place with bullets, we can see that some of the houses have been burnt out, one of them looks to have a RPG hole blown out the side of it."

Paul Danahar also made this video piece for BBC News, covering much of what he described in earlier audio interviews and Tweets.

Update June 9th Paul Danahar also produced a longer piece from BBC Radio 4's Today programme, where he gives provides more details. He says he was approached by a neighbouring village who told him the killings were carried out by people from a nearby Alawite village, and the victims were Sunni Muslims.  The witness said "At 2pm the village was surrounded by tanks and army, and shabiha came from neighbouring villages and killed them all.  Only this man left, they thought he was dead.  They are loyalists to the regime.  They have taken the bodies, and they are dragging them in their own villages."

Tim Marshall reported this for Sky News:
Those villagers that are brave enough to speak to us are desperate to tell their stories - but also not to be identified.
They claim that the army made them remove the dead from buildings and bury them yesterday, although this cannot be proved.
And adds this to the end of the report
The length of time since the alleged massacre took place has provided ample time for any evidence to be cleared away.
And for every eyewitness that blames the pro-government militia, there is another accusing rebel forces.
As for proof of what happened in this hamlet on Wednesday - I don't think we will ever get it.
Update June 10th Deborah Amos of NPR was also with the UN monitors when they visited Qubair, and added further details.  She said
You could see low shots. And some of the witnesses who did step forward say that is where the children were shot.

These were low down. You could imagine them crouching before they were killed. There were dead animals in the dirt there. Buildings were scorched. A couple of buildings had giant what looked like shell holes, big holes that sort of blew out the sides of these places. So whatever happened in this village, it was pretty horrific.
When we were still out on the road into the village, a man drove on a motorcycle and says his sons and his brothers and his cousins had all been killed. He was the first one to give us a number at about 78.
And he said it was pro-government militias from neighboring villages who came in to do the killing. There were fresh graves dug right behind the mosque in the village. And these young people said to us what happened is the military came in on Thursday and said, you will bury all of the dead before the U.N. gets here. And they did.
So, there was no bodies to see. That forensic evidence was lost. And the investigators, you know, said that is going to be a problem. It's going to be hard to sort out how these people were killed without being able to see the bodies. And they're already buried
It should be noted Paul Danahar Tweeted this about the above witness
A man called Ahmed has come up from the village who says he witnessed the killings. He has says dozens were killed. #syria
He has a badly bruised face but his story is conflicted & the UN say they are not sure he's honest as they think he followed the convoy.
Illustrates how [hard] it is to get the truth here in #Syria and how tough the UN mission is.
In addition to the reports published on their websites they also posted a number of videos and images from Qubair, including these three posted on Jon Williams of the BBC's Youtube channel


The UN also posted a video of their visit to Qubair
And a number of photos were posted by Paul Danahar and Tim Marshall
The scene inside the gutted house in Qubier where the stench of burnt flesh was still strong
Dead live stock outside the houses in Qubier
Dead farm animal. Shot. Qubier. Syria.
Burnt building. Al qubier. Syria.
Burnt out house qubier syria
Paul Danahar also uploaded video phone footage
Video from the house in Qubair #Syria where I found the remains of people among their possessions yfrog.com/5dkv5z
Video from inside one of the houses in Qubier in #Syria where massacre too place on Tuesday yfrog.com/4769bz
Update June 11th HamaEcho posted a series of sometimes graphic images on Twitter:
The massacred Qubair farm, .
All the houses in Qubair farm look like this. Smashed and covered in blood, some are burnt.
Qubair massacre - bodies being prepared for burial.
Qubair massacre - Child's head is destroyed.
Qubair massacre - Young baby killed by Assad's shabiha militia.
As far as I can gather this is the majority of evidence gathered so far, but as always, if you believe you have photographs, videos, or witness statements I've missed please let me know @brown_moses or by email brownmoses@gmail.com

Related Posts
Syria - The Qubair Massacre
The Head Of The Investigation Into The Qubair Massacre Defects To The Syrian Opposition

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Wednesday, 6 June 2012

Syria - The Qubair Massacre

Update June 8th - I've put together evidence gathered by the UN and press in Qubair in this post for reference purposes.

All links should be considered graphic. All reports should be considered unconfirmed.

21:27 BST Reports are coming in of a fresh massacre in Qubair, in the Hama suburbs.  Syria Campaigns has just tweeted the following
A new massacre has just happened in the Hama suburb area of Qubair. At least 86 killed & number is expected to rise. Tweet: .
At least 86 men, women, & children slaughtered by Assad forces in Qubair, Hama. Tweet to unite the tweets under one hashtag.
Talals tweeted the following
Victims of are mainly from the families of Yatim and Oulwan, it means they were murdered in their houses!
Eyewitness from Qubair where the massacre took place on AJArabic said Assad's gang didn't spare even a 2 month old girl!
I'll be updating this post as more information comes in.

21:30 BST Via Sky News Newsdesk
AFP: Syrian National Council says Syrian regime kills 100 people in "massacre" in Hama today
21:32 BST via Maisa Akbi
Burnt corpses in
21:34 BST via Syria Campaigns
Correction: 78 civilians killed in Qubair and 86 total killed in all of Hama. Death toll in all of Syria is now at 129.
21:36 BST via Mohammed Sarmini
Among the killed, there were 20 kids of 2 years old or less, and 20 women#syria
A new massacre in Al Qubeer Farm in the rural areas of Hama, The thugs of Assad raided today the Qubeer Farm#syria#hamah
20 km to the west of Mohardeh in the rural area of Hama. They’ve committed a horrible brutal massacre#syria#hamah
they’ve killed around 100 people with knives and burned some alive. Among the killed, there are 20 kids of 2 years old or less; and 20 women
Among the killed, there were 20 kids (2 years old or less); and 20 women.
21:38 BST The Youtube channel sham1aljazeera has been posting videos of burnt corpses allegedly from Qubair over the past few hours which you can view here. 22:21 BST UPDATE according to DSyer "
There is no mention of Qubair here - these are videos from another massacre in Kafarzita "


21:39 BST Via Syrian Democrats
ONLY FOUR survivors from massacre, Al Arabiya reported.
21:42 BST Via Maryam Saleh
86 martyrs in Kafarzeita, including 6 with burnt corpses. 78 martyrs in al-Qubair massacre, including 35 from 1 family via
Massacres in Hama tend to go unnoticed. Let's make this one different. 86 men, women & children were slaughtered today in  
Al-Qubair is a tiny farm with a population of 130. 78 of the 130 were slaughtered today, including 20 children & 35 women.  
30+ of those killed in were burned alive. The rest were either shot at or slaughtered with knives.  
Where are the good-for-nothing UN observers? Oh, I forgot, they're too scared to leave their hotels at night.  
al-Qubair is a small farm whose residents are from the al-Yateem, al-Farees and 'Alwan families.  
Shelling of al-Qubair began at around 2 p.m. An hour later, shabiha from al-Aseela village stormed al-Qubair and carried out
21:45 BST The BBC is now reporting "New 'massacre' reported in Syria's Hama province"
As many as 100 people, including many women and children, have been killed by Syrian pro-government forces in Hama province, opposition activists say.
21:46 BST Via Maisa Akbik
Map for Qubair village (right) & the villages where witnesses say the killers came from (left).
21:50 BST via Maia Akbik
They burned an infant of 4 months old in Qubair,
21:56 BST via Me_eZ
Activist from Qubair village in said: we asked Un observers for more than 10 times " tweet to be continued"
we asked them 10 times that come to the village before the massacre, but they didn't reply
21:57 BST via Sally Misa
Kaf rZayta, Kernaz, Latamnah, Mezraf, Al Qubair, Hilfaya, Maardas , towms r being shelled wz all kinds f rockets & mortars
22:00 BST request for media contact from Hassan Hassan
If anyone knows anyone who can speak about Al Qubair massacre, in Hama, please contact
22:01 BST via Nesreen Meknas
Summary of : (1) At around 2 p.m., 3 T-72 tanks began shelling Ma'arzaf and al-Qubair.Residents mostly from al-Yateem family
(2) After an hour, cars and buses carrying shabiha (regime thugs) from al-Aseela village (a regime loyalist village) stormed al-Qubair
(3) They began destroying houses, slaughtering residents and burning their corpses.
(4) 35 people from al-Yateem family were killed...
(5) Knives were used to summarily executed many women and children...
About 78 martyrs have been accounted for and identified by name..Out of the 130 residents living in the village, 100 of them were murdered!
22:04 BST via Hassan Hassan
Tanks and artillery shelled Al Qubair, and then used the army, shabbiha and security forces and raided the village. Maher Al Nuaimi
 22:05 BST via Hama English News Facebook
Hama Countryside | al-Qubair Farm near Ma'arzaf Village | Details of the Massacre
Ma'arzaf village lies about 20 km west of Hama city and 2 km south of the city of Mharde.
al-Qubair is considered to be a residential area south of Ma'arzaf with about 25 houses where members of the al-Yateem, al-Farees and 'Alwan families live.

At around 2 p.m., 3 T-72 tanks moved from the direction of al-Majdal village and Aseela village towards Ma'arzaf and began shelling Ma'arzaf and al-Qubair, another small village whose residents are mostly from the al-Yateem family.

After about an hour, several cars and buses carrying shabiha (regime thugs) from al-Aseela village (which is a regime loyalist village) stormed al-Qubair and began destroying houses, slaughtering residents and burning their corpses.
Among the casualties is a woman from the Qastal family, who was killed with all her children
35 people from al-Yateem family were killed
Some members of the 'Alwan family were killed as a result of injuries sustained by the shelling, as the supplies needed to care for them were not available
Knives were used to summarily executed many women and children
Many houses were completely destroyed during the shelling by Assad regime tanks
Shabiha kidnapped the bodies of many men. At this point, about 78 martyrs have been accounted for and identified by name and some corpses were burned by the shabiha.
22:08 BST via NMSyria
Ma'arzaf village lies about 20 km west of Hama city and 2 km south of the city of Mharde.
Qubair is a residential area south of Ma'arzaf with 25 houses where members of the al-Yateem, al-Farees, Alwan families live  
At around 2 p.m., 3 T-72 tanks moved from the direction of al-Majdal village and Aseela village towards Ma'arzaf  
They began shelling Ma'arzaf and al-Qubair, another small village whose residents are mostly from the al-Yateem family.
After an hour, several cars and buses carrying shabiha (regime thugs) from al-Aseela (regime loyal village) stormed Qubair  
They began destroying houses, slaughtering residents and burning their corpses.  
Among the casualties is a woman from the Qastal family, who was killed with all her children  
35 members of the al-Yateem family were killed. Their name in English means "The Orphans". The irony is dreadful...  
Members of the 'Alwan family were killed as a result of injuries from shelling, as medical supplies needed not available.  
Knives were used to summarily execute many men, women and children  
Many houses were completely destroyed during the shelling by Assad regime tanks  
Reports that several bodies have been taken by the thugs that stormed the village.
22:11 BST The Huffington Post reports Hama Massacre: Qubair, Syria, Site Of Fresh Violence, According To Unconfirmed Reports

22:13 BST via Syrian Scenes
Mahmoud al-Jasim, eyewitness to the , describes "entire families killed with knives", [Arabic]:
22:14 BST via Edward Dark
a protest in Bustan Qasr, Aleppo city tonight in reaction to
22:16 BST via Maisa Akbik
I'm hearing news of another massacre in Haffe, , I'll check it out.
I have another source saying there was a massacre in Haffe, , but still need to confirm after we were misled many times!
22:18 BST via Felicity Barr
Just interviewed activist re: massacre reported in Hama. Says 78 killed in 1 village because it is home to Free Syrian Army member.
22:24 BST As now noted on an earlier update this Youtube channel is posting videos from Kafarzita, not Qubair.

22:27 BST via Maisa Akbik
Confirmed: Tens killed in Haffe , The town is surrounded & thugs r asking men by speakers to surrender to them.
22:28 BST via Sumayya Saleh
Official spokesperson for Major Maher Al-Nuaimi is from . He spoke of the FSA abiding by the ceasefire.

22:30 BST via Felicity Barr
activist says 35 members of the soldier's own family were killed. Says two villages were shelled and then Assad's men went in.
activist says UN monitors have been told of the Hama massacre, but can't get there until tmrrw.
22:33 BST via CNN Breaking
BREAKING NEWS: Syria - NEW massacre reported - At least 78 ppl wr killed in 1 Syrian village w/ half of the dead women & children
22:35 BST via HamaEcho
Most of you know about the new massacre tonight by Assad's pigs, we're very busy collecting names of martyrs and more info will update later
Nothing happens in this village, it was just a random choice tonight for Assad's bloodthirsty pigs to try and wipe it off the map.
Protests are taking place all over Hama city tonight and people screaming takbir from their windows in support of Qubair town.
Videos of the burnt bodies in the morning are from Kafarzita, which a lot of bad news is also coming from all day.
Will post a twitlonger post about the massacre in a few minutes, please wait, overload with Kafarzita as well.
22:40 BST via Ammar Kalo
Dont expect videos or pictures from 1) because its a tiny tiny village and 2) because there's barely anyone left.
22:41 BST via Edward Dark
picture: where took place bottom middle in blue via
22:43 BST The Guardian reports Syrian activists: new massacre in Hama
Activists say pro-government militia and security forces have killed at least 78 people, including children, in Syria's central province of Hama.
Some of those killed in the village of Mazraat al-Qabeer were stabbed to death, the activists said, and at least 12 bodies had been burned. Some activists who spoke to Reuters said at least 40 of the victims were women and children.
22:45 BST Via Abdullah Aldahhan
Accordng to HNN...the bodies that were stolen from Qubair are being dragged by cars in Alawite neighborhood of Aseela. so..who is sectarian?

 22:47 BST Via Edward Dark
via a close up of Qubair village, a tiny area
22:48 BST Via Abdul Aziz Al-Sibaal
Only 4 residents of AlQubair are still alive; they were outside the village during the massacre.
22:50 BST Reuters reports At least 78 killed in Syria's Hama province

22:53 BST Via Sate3
Syrian TV Breaking via an official source in .
Syrian TV Breaking re an awful find seen in today via an official source.
22:54 BST Via Hala Gorani of CNN
LCC tells CNN of a new "massacre" in 's Hama province: 78 people killed in Qubeir village, 35 from same family.
LCC activist who lives near Qubeir tells CNN after regime shelled village, militiamen executed civilians w knives and AK 47's.
22:57 BST Via Anas Marwah Facebook
Syrian National Council calls for national mourning after Qubair Massacrenear Hama and wider Civil Disobedience in Syria.
23:00 BST Via BBC News World
Syria activists quite credible - this is how Houla massacre info came out, they know they're under scrutiny, BBC's Jim Muir tells
23:02 BST Via HamaEcho
People still outside and chanting from their windows for support of Qubair, the other Hama suburbs and chanting "The people want an AK-47"
23:06 BST Via THE syrian girl
Activist that blogged about claims they kept asking #un to come to #Qubair b4 massacre activist tweeted this. A village of 160 & all the activists kept asking & 1 of them has twitter.. #onlyinsyria 
23:07 BST via Julien Barnes-Dacey
1/2 If confirmed I'd say new massacre in Syria is another sign of growing regime weakness, lashing out to try and recreate fear
2/2 everything i saw and heard in last week makes think regime is far weaker than I previously thought. Losing control...
23:16 BST Via LaShaque
BREAKING News TV: Armed groups perpetrate most atrocious massacre in yet.
23:17 BST Via LaShaque
News TV: This massacre took place the night before the Security Council meeting and the perpetrators planned it to increase pressure.
23:18 BST Via Mark White of Sky News
BREAK - Syrian State TV has tonight confirmed there has been a massacre of civilians in Hama, but says "Terrorist armed groups" to blame
23:19 BST Via HamaEcho
Stop talking about "videos" from Qubair, there is none yet. If you have been there before you will understand why, it's very, very small.
23:34 BST This live blog is over for the moment, but the Huffington Post and Enduring America are both live blogging it.

Related Posts
Syria - The Qubair Massacre - Evidence Gathered So Far
The Head Of The Investigation Into The Qubair Massacre Defects To The Syrian Opposition

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