Video Shows Opposition Forces And Wounded Retreating From Qusayr

Today it's been confirmed by both the Syrian government and opposition that opposition forces have withdrawn from the town of Qusayr, Homs, site of a key battle in the region.  The Qusayr Media Center, which had been posting regular videos from the town has posted one video, apparently filmed during the retreat, showing the wounded being evacuated

I've had the video translated

Hadi al-Abulluh (local activist): Those are some of the wounded who are besieged in Qysayr. There are about 970. Every day we try getting them out of the town but we can’t do so because of the siege imposed on us. There is no safe exit. International organizations didn’t reach us, neither Red Cross not Read Crescent.
1:20 Old man: We must help the wounded, there are more than 1200. Neither the European nor the Arabs are answering our calls for help.
3:15 un-named man: Why don’t the Muslims help us?
4:35 un-named man: I am one out of 1200 wounded. There were many attempts to get us out of here. Every time 50 try to get out only 25 return back because they usually get killed on their way out. Some of them died because of the shelling or as a result of the fatal wounds. Most of us here are civilians, nobody is doing anything to help us.
5:36 un-named man: The Arabs have left us alone dying slowly. We need men not money.
6:08 off-camera: We are improvising burial cloth out of blankets and clothes because they ran out. Many were buried wearing their clothes because we have no more burial cloth. 

From the other side this report from al-Manar TV showing government forces inside Qusayr was posted, clearly showing them in control of the center of the town

It's interesting to note that at this point in the video air-to-air missiles can been seen, which despite some claims of them being US/Israeli missiles, actually appear to be the missile taken from Dabaa airbase, and turned into surface-to-surface missiles by opposition fighters, something I detail here and here.

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

More Translated Radio Communications From Qusayr

Last week I posted a transcript of radio communications between government fighters, reportedly intercepted in Qusayr, Homs, that gave some insight into the fighting taking place.  Since then a couple more videos of recorded radio communications have been uploaded, and I've had them transcribed into English

Hadi al-Abdullah (local activist) All those who oversee and direct the military operations in Qusayr and all the military forces that are attacking Qusayr belong to Hezbollah. There is no presence whatsoever of Assad’s forces, and they don’t have any role in the bombardment or in the attempts to storm the town. Now we are intercepting Hezbollah’s radio communications in the battlefield.
0:22 636
0:39 Abu Zainab
0:42 Abu Yaser, come to 636
1:04 There is something like a bomb under us. Hamza, who’s talking? Thank you, 636. Where are you now? I want to join you.
1:30 Send the ambulance to Abu Yaser to recover them. Why is doing that?
1:36 Where are you? At what number?
1:48 Abu Yasser, can you hear me?
1:56 Hamza, please reply, at what number?
2:00 I am still in my place. Can you hear me well?
2:04 Define your location by the number. What number?
2:06 I am at 578
2:17 I am coming over to you.
Hadi al-Abdullah As you have seen, al the fighters in the battle are Lebanese. Their Lebanese accent is clear.

My translator says he also believe this is a Lebanese dialect.

0:06 Are the tank and the BMP ok? (Or has it worked with the tank and the BMP?)
0:08 ……. Bombs ….. there is a wall between us, we can’t manage it (Or things aren’t going well) . Abu Ali Mahdi.
0:20 Abu Ali Mahdi is talking. What should I do?
0:23 I can’t do it, I am encircled from all sides. They are throwing grenades at me and I can’t move or do anything. My men are falling in front my eyes and I can’t do anything. We need to retreat, then we will shell the area and after that we will retry breaking through.
0:41 Where should I send the Shilka? I want to relieve you. In what direction should I send it?
0:50 It won’t work. They came very close and threw grenades at me. They can see me while I can’t. They are fixing me and are encircling me from all sides. All my men will fall down.
1:40 Qusayr will be your grave. Allah Akbar

Again, my translator says he believes these are Lebanese accents and dialects.

As always it should be kept in mind there's no way to check if these are authentic communications.

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

Abu Sakkar Joins Mounting Casualties From The Fighting in Qusayr

As I noted earlier this week the infamous "cannibal", Abu Sakkar, has been sighted inside Qusayr, Homs, scene of heavy fighting between opposition forces and government forces, including members of Hezbollah and the Syrian National Defense Force.  This photograph published yesterday shows Abu Sakkar recovering after being injured in the fighting

What's been notable about some of the footage coming from Qusayr (mainly via the Qusayr Media Centre and Tariq al-Homsi Youtube channels) is that despite reports of civilians being allowed to leave by the Syrian Army via a safe passage in the north of the city before the fighting began it seems many civilian remain in Qusayr, either through choice or circumstances, for example this elderly couple, and this group of women and children

This has resulted in inevitable civilian casualties, including injured and killed children (graphic), with a video showing their burial posted yesterday

It's also worth noting that currently it appears the northwest quarter of the town seems to be the main source of resistance against the Syrian government forces, which has long been the main stronghold for the opposition in the town going back months.  It's possible that rather than holding territory they were unfamiliar with the Syrian opposition forces decided to stick to the area they were familiar with, and this could be why we're now seeing what appears to be very slow movement on the front-lines compared to rapid movement early on in the battle.

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

Intercepted Radio Conversations Gives An Insight Into The Fighting In Qusayr

Over the past week a major battle has been taking place in Qusayr, Homs, between Syrian opposition forces, and forces reportedly made up of the Syrian army and Hezbollah fighters from nearby Lebanon.    Various claims and counter claims have been made about the progress of the battle, with channels reporting from the outskirts of the town with pro-government forces, and opposition Youtube channels posting videos from inside the town.

One video posted today claims to be radio communications between government forces in town, and offers some insight into the ongoing battle from the government side

Many thanks to my translator for transcribing the entire conversation into English.  The conversation is among a number of people, with one person apparently attempting to organise several groups, so this just lists what's being said without specific individuals named.  The men on the radio are referring to each other by various nicknames, such as Mazloom 12, Mazloom 13, Murtada, etc.


- I have a broken tank, send the maintenance team to Abu Hasan. O Mazloom, there is a broken tank.
- Kareem, Kareem, I need a stretcher, I have two casualties.
- Alright brother, just wait a second.  Mazloom! Mazloom!
Who is there? Who is calling for me?
- Come near brother as I told you. Join me, can you see where I am?
- Abu Ridda, Michael, there are hundreds of them opposing us. The sniper is firing at me, I am retreating back.
-Abu Ali …. Mazloom.
- Send us an ambulance please.
- Alright.
- Abu Yaser ….. Where are you Abu Ali?
- Abu Hasan …… Slingo.
- Slingo …. We told Mazloom.
- Did you know where I am? Oh man! You were firing at me a while ago.
Abu Ridda ….  Abu Yaser.
I can hear you. Man! Nobody is getting near, nobody is dares!
- Abu Haidar …..
- Carbalaa’
- Mazloom! I need tanks. Send me 23 (mm gun) now!
- Luay …. Abu Hasan. Join me bro! Come here! Where are you? Are you near the cypress trees?
- Bro! Can you see the tanks column? Go there! Join me!
- I am firing at the house one B7 (RPG-7).
- Wait while I locate you.
- Look! I am on the right of the water tank. Can I go forward?
- Where are you now?
- I am on the right of the water tank.
- Hamza ….. Mazloom! Look out! Bring the tanks closer and let’s get to the mosque, move!
- My tank has stopped. Call on Mazloom.
- Mazloom … 13.
- I can hear you bro.
- Abu Hasan, the sniper there is firing at me and my comrades, I can’t get across. Can you call on one of those guys in order to decide what to do?
- I need someone from Mazloom’s group bring the maintenance team. My tank has stopped in the street.
-Manzoom! There is wounded comrade here.
- Kaukab! Let Abu Rhidda tell me where I should go with the ambulance.
- Bro! Those are our comrades. Nobody fires a shot!
Mazloom 12 …. Mazloom 13!
- Can you call from there? Nobody hears me while I am here.
- Nobody has answered. Nobody is answering my calls!
- Abu Rhidda, I will get there under cover of the dushka. Find those two on the road.
- Cover isn’t needed, the road is safe. Come here! Hurry up!
-Turn to the right when coming here, there is an unpaved road, take it. Follow the trail of the tank. I removed the shell out of the canon, but I am not sure if it still works, and I don’t know if I should get near you or not. Where should I fire the shell?
- Fire it a bit to the east, at the houses, fire it low, not high. Fire it where I fired the first one, but if you fire it elsewhere it will hurt us.
- I will fire one there.
- If it is still working, bring it here.
- I can hear you. Where are you?
- The sniper is blocking my road. I am stuck and he doesn’t let me move.
- Tell him where you are and where you want the paramedics to go.
- Michael! Are the wounded with you now? Reply please!
- Slingo, can you find the road that we took?
- We told you many times to send us a vehicle, it’s urgent.
- Where should I send the ambulance, Murtada?
- Ali Hasan, send it to Mujahed if you find him.I am near him.
- I was under constant fire … Put it (aim at) behind the water tank. They are behind the water tank firing at us using B7 (RPG-7).
- Abu Rhidda, I can’t join you though I am not very far away. Oh bro! Our comrades are being killed by snipers. Where is the stretcher?
- I am against you. There are causalities lying on the ground. There are another two here.
- What should we do now?
- Send reinforces here, Abu Hidar is calling.
- Fire two shells at the houses facing you. Also fire a shell to the west. There are two snipers on your right, fire at them.
- Abu Hasan’s tanks to the east are firing at us!
- There is a casualty here, he is wounded in his back.
- There are two wounded there, they are still lying on the ground. Somebody bring them!
- It’s batteries are catching fire!
- I will send the maintenance team. Just wait a minute.
- Are all those tanks belong to us or just we own only one?
- There are eight comrades wounded. Go and recover them quickly. They were ambushed there.
- Abu Ali, come here quickly with the tank!
- He was wounded in his leg and I was badly wounded.
- Nobody fires! All Mazloom’s men retreat now!
- Guys! There are a lot of casualties there.
- Abu Hasan, I will send you more troops near the props, just send me a car

It's of course very difficult to authenticate radio conversations like this, but several people who have listened to it who are familiar with regional accents claim these are all Lebanese accents, so this might actually be radio communications between Hezbollah fighters in the area.

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

Croatian Weapons Arrive In Homs

When Croatian weapons, provided by Saudi Arabia, first appeared a number of people noted that while the weapons had been sighted in Daraa, Idlib, Aleppo, and Deir Ez Zor, they hadn't appeared in Homs, the scene of months of fighting.  Now, for the first time, these weapons have started to appear in the Homs region.  The first video shows a M79 Osa rocket launcher being used by opposition fighters in Baba Amr, Homs, south-west of the city centre

This next video shows a RBG-6 grenade launcher in Al Khaldiyah, Homs, north of the city centre, being used by a new group, Katiba al-Samoud - Janud Allah, which appears to be aligned with the FSA 

Here we see a RPG-22 being used by what appears to be the same group in the above video at an unknown location in Homs

This final video shows a M60 recoilless gun being used at near the Lebanese border, near Al Qusayr, south-west of Homs

All four videos were posted in that last two days, and I've been unable to find earlier videos showing Croatian weapons in the Homs region, so it appears these are all new arrivals in the Homs region, and it will be interesting if these weapons have the same significant effect in Homs as they've had in Daraa.


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