I've been here in Lebanon for almost a week now, and its starting to get busy here. Syria is back into the news with reports of clashes in the town of Jisr Al-Shughour near the Turkish border. Syrian State TV is claiming that 'terrorists' murdered 120 members of the security forces. Youtube footage emerged yesterday of piles of bodies lying on the road in a mix of security uniforms while those filming gloated, this was soon picked up and played multiple times by state TV as proof of their version of events.
In contrast the opposition groups have said that any violence that occurred was not them and was instead mutineers in the army who refused to shoot protestors and fought against other elements of the security forces. Other versions of events have emerged but it seems impossible to be sure of what actually happened other than the fact that protests have been violently suppressed with many civilian casualties and it seems to be the case that some in the opposition have taken up arms to defend their town. The footage of the casualties does not fit the mutiny theory and it does seem to be the case that someone ambushed the security forces who died, although we only saw 10-15 bodies.
As a result we are hearing reports that the army is massing in nearby towns to retake the town. Refugees are fleeing Jisr Al-Shughour over the Turkish border, we've seen many videos appear on youtube of those fleeing and it seems to be the case that the men are settling their families over the border and then returning to defend the town. If this is the case when the army chooses its moment to strike then we could see some of the fiercest confrontation of the Syrian uprising so far. Quite how far the army will go in enforcing its orders is as yet unclear as rumours of mutinies are still coming out of the country.
Today has been more quiet than yesterday in the office, perhaps the calm before the storm, and the last two days have been spent trawling through youtube footage and facebook pages to try and get an accurate idea of the situation as it unfolds.
In contrast the opposition groups have said that any violence that occurred was not them and was instead mutineers in the army who refused to shoot protestors and fought against other elements of the security forces. Other versions of events have emerged but it seems impossible to be sure of what actually happened other than the fact that protests have been violently suppressed with many civilian casualties and it seems to be the case that some in the opposition have taken up arms to defend their town. The footage of the casualties does not fit the mutiny theory and it does seem to be the case that someone ambushed the security forces who died, although we only saw 10-15 bodies.
As a result we are hearing reports that the army is massing in nearby towns to retake the town. Refugees are fleeing Jisr Al-Shughour over the Turkish border, we've seen many videos appear on youtube of those fleeing and it seems to be the case that the men are settling their families over the border and then returning to defend the town. If this is the case when the army chooses its moment to strike then we could see some of the fiercest confrontation of the Syrian uprising so far. Quite how far the army will go in enforcing its orders is as yet unclear as rumours of mutinies are still coming out of the country.
Today has been more quiet than yesterday in the office, perhaps the calm before the storm, and the last two days have been spent trawling through youtube footage and facebook pages to try and get an accurate idea of the situation as it unfolds.
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