Syria Update: Tartus – Latakia (Part 4) December 15, 2013

Syria Update: Tartus – Latakia (Part 4)

December 15, 2013

ANNA News team has been to Latakia province and visited a number of areas previously attacked by bands of radical Islamists. Those townships were liberated by the arrived Syrian army troops. However, the tragedy that had befallen this land can be felt immediately here, even to this day. Its signs are everywhere – in the gaping emptiness of the roadside houses, in the forsaken fertile farmlands, in the silent rocks, oak trees, and olive groves.

All along, we were fully aware that we were traveling to places where terrible tragedies had taken place. But the scale of the disaster became understandable only after we had met in person with those people, who had been directly involved in that calamity. Those were the people, who had been witnesses to the crimes of modern-day fascists who had decided that their beliefs give them the right to determine as to who will live upon this earth and who will die a tortured death.        

We have met many people who will be able to testify – in any court – to the facts of such ferocity that can bring shudder even to the most cynical advocates for the cause of the so-called Syrian freedom fighters. Those are the facts of crimes against humanity, of mass killings on religious grounds, and of genocide of a part of the Syrian society. We are going to make known stories told to us by the people, who had managed to survive the manslaughter. The stories of people, who, unarmed and caught unawares in their own beds in the early hours of the morning, still had managed to escape hell. 

We were returning to Damascus with a feeling of a self-assumed responsibility to the residents of the villages of Latakia to tell the world of those tragic days of 2013. Those were the tragic days that had become a watershed in the destinies of those Syrian people, dividing their lives into “before” and “after” – that had radically changed their lives, irreparably crippling them mentally, after they had encountered vicious cruelty, savagery, and inhumanity, which will forever remain in the memory of the Syrian people.

The torments that those people had gone through must never happen again. For that reason only, the facts of the crimes perpetrated by the militants, spreading along with them the plague of the 21st century, need to be brought to the wider public attention, they ought to be known everywhere by all the people of good will, who so far have been unaware of those things that are taking place in Syria. Those facts ought to be known by the people of good will, who are being misled by their mainstream media and their political leaders.

Having arrived in Khirbet Soulas village, we were pleasantly surprised. Even before we had got out of our vehicles, we saw local residents headed in our direction. As soon as they had noticed the vehicles, the people there went out to welcome us. 

“Long live the army”, they were chanting. They told us, “We had been attacked from all sides by the terrorists. They surrounded the village and stormed in, breaking into the houses. But for the help of God and the army, we all would have been killed. There were 400 people living in the village. Those who survived, they left here. The bandits destroyed our houses. They were attacking from everywhere. They burned down and looted the houses. With God’s help, the army came in, drove them out, and protected us. Long live the army! Long live the President! We are grateful to all the soldiers and officers. If it were not for them, we would not be here.

Thanks to God, and thanks to the army, our houses remained intact. We have already seeded and harvested since then. They attacked us at eight in the morning, they attacked the village four times and the army defended us. There were many foreigners among them with big beards. Despite the fact that they had burned down our houses and looted them, we stayed here. We have rebuilt everything and keep living on our land. We do not need anything. It is all thanks to the army. The soldiers are helping us very much. They give us bread.”

Marat Musin: “Those peaceful people came out to greet us. Their village had been attacked four times by the militants. If it had not been for the soldiers, who are right here with us now, most probably no one of those people would have survived. Those are the people who have stayed in their own village. As the militants are constantly trying to break through into this area, the Syrian army troops do not allow them to do that. I just would like to express my wishes that all of your friends and fellow villagers return to your village and to their homes as soon as possible and that peace come back to your lands.”

We continued on our trip to the forefront of the Syrian army defenses.

Marat Musin: “The militants had attacked this spot several times. We are standing at the former line of enemy engagement. When the militants had managed to capture the local telecommunications tower, they ransacked it and set it ablaze.”

“Mister Officer, would you please tell us about the current situation in your defense area front line?”

SAA Officer: “We are at Mount Khirbet Soulas, right now. It is a strategic position here that the militants are constantly trying to capture. This mount top allows us to control the territory from Salma to Rabia as well as a number of other towns and villages in the area. Some of those villages were attacked and captured earlier. The militants have made the villagers leave these places. The militants constantly try to capture new villages; they burn wild forests in order to advance closer to Latakia city to control it. Syrian army stands in the way of those attacks and keeps surveillance of the militants’ numbers and their movements in the area. This particular spot here is very important as it controls all the militant movement routes between the villages al-Rabia, al-Sukaria, and Juret al-Ma.”

Marat Musin: “Where did the militants attack this village from?”

SAA Officer: “The militants have several routes of movement. Number one – from Juret al-Ma village. Number Two – from al-Malek village, on the other side of the mountain. And number three is from Gmam village, in the direction of Khirbet Soulas. Sometimes, they try to surround us by moving from the water reservoir. But our troops’ positioning in the area does not allow them to complete their mission.”

Marat Musin: “How many civilians have been killed?”

SAA Officer: “Before the army came here, there were many killed. They [militants] had carried out massacres several times. One took place in Kambasia village, another one in Sgavor. After the advancement of Syrian army, they retreated, taking great losses. After the army had come, there were no more killings. Now, the army defends this territory, controls the militants’ movements and their supply routes, which run across the border with Turkey. This place is very close to Syria-Turkey border. It is mere ten kilometers from al-Rabia area to the Turkish border.”

Marat Musin: “Are the commanding officers of the militants foreigners or Syrians?”

SAA Officer: “Yes, there is a great number of foreigners among them. Chechens, citizens of the Persian Gulf countries, Egyptians, Tunisians, Libyans. Foreigners make up the majority of the militants.”

Marat Musin: “How high are the morals and the combat spirit of the militants?”

SAA Officer: “After several failures on their part, and after the strikes, delivered against their meeting points, the militants’ combat spirit has greatly diminished. Whereas, the Syrian army’s spirits are high. So, you can see the results.”

“You see, they have burned villages, houses, and forests also to distract us from their troops’ movement. They also try to create smoke screens so that we would not be able to spot them. They hide themselves behind the smoke which makes it easier for them to be on the move.”

Marat Musin: “What are the militants’ casualties?”

SAA Officer: “It depends. At times, when we locate their positions, their losses could reach up to 100. More often, it is 50 – 70.”

We are on our way again, moving to another defense area of the Syrian army. Here, there is one of the Syrian army defense areas where Syrian troops defend nearby villages by blocking the militant routes from Turkey. The day when Khirbet Soulas was attacked, they stood a very difficult fighting here but did not let the bandits through.

Marat Musin: “Mister Colonel! How many soldiers did you have here and how did you stop the militant group back then?”

SAA Colonel: “The combat took place April 29, 2013. A large number of militants began to attack Khirbet Soulas village from various directions. Direction number one was from Der Hanka. Direction number two from Garv. A group of soldiers kept their defense here. The combat lasted for six hours. Many militants were killed. They managed to reach this spot. But, thanks to our soldiers’ bravery, the militants were driven back, having a great number of them killed. The militants had initially thought that they controlled this area. That was the beginning of their operation to capture Latakia city. According to their plan, the militants expected to have captured the ridge of Khirbet Soulas in the morning; and by the evening of that day, they intended to take over Latakia. This spot here is very important! Anyone who has control of this place is able to control Latakia. That is why they had tried to capture this place several times. Every time, they sustained great losses.”

Marat Musin: “I would like to express my gratitude… By withstanding such an attack you have in fact saved the lives of the people of that village.”

SAA Colonel: “Mostly, there are foreigners in the militant ranks. One of their aims is to capture as many women as possible. Once, we have intercepted a message radioed by one of the militants, who was reporting a capture of several women. He was told to await “sheik”, who will have to see the women before distributing them… They [militants] have no morality. We the soldiers and officers of the Syrian Army will be defending this territory. We consider ourselves responsible for the lives of those civilians. If the militants broke through here, it would be a catastrophe to the residents of the villages. The way it happened in some other villages where the militants had carried out mass killings. They had raped women and taken captive a great number of people, of whom we have not heard anything to this day. That is why our duty is to stand up against terrorism, hold on to the end, and try to kill as many of them as possible. We are fighting here against the international terrorism, for the rest of the world. They come over here from all around the world. Even in Turkey, now that they have given these bandits a shelter there, the same militants now give them problems. They even began to threaten the Turkish people, already.”

Subsequently, we found out that it was this very SAA officer, who had stood in the defense of this place for six hours, along with his five soldiers.

Our trip to the Syrian army frontline defense positions was drawing to a close. However, our journey across Latakia was not over.

It is to be continued.               

   

 

Contributors: Vasily Pavlov, Andrey Filatov, Igor Nadyrshin, Victor Kuznetsov, Marat Musin.

ANNA-News, Latakia, Syria