Talk:Coastal Uprisings of 2011

Talk Talk
Up late, been on a bender here. Maybe this page should be compressed into events of 2011, maybe Deraa should be split off from that to give it all space. I'm in history mode, thinking ahead, a lot of space is needed. Space for mulling here. Thoughts? --Caustic Logic (talk) 16:29, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

Train Station Massacre
This is a small and obscure event of March 30, 2011, with about two dead and a few injured, with all circumstances being murkier than one would think.

The incident came following days of contested unrest. Loyalist sources described this so: "The city of Latakia in the last few days witnessed shooting incidents that led to the fall of more than 12 people, including two militants, were killed and some 200 security elements injured." A short period of calm followed, then following a defiant speech by president Assad in Damascus, protests broke out anew in Latakia on the 30th.

The protesters were anti-regime but flew a Syrian state flag, brandished bibles alongside korans, waved white shirts, chanted "peaceful, peaceful, one country, freedom, no sectarianism," and were falsely dubbed a pro-Assad rally by state-friendly media. Or so participants told an activist who compiled the definitive opposition "Confirmed account of the events of March 30, 2011 in Latakia, Syria, to be reported by the media" (the only such source cited around in English or Arabic), from the Facebook page of "The Syrian Revolution 2011". This is from an activist who didn't see the events but saw blood and shell casings and videos of those shot. His sources strenuously insisted they had no weapons whatsoever. And so security forces opened fire for no reason with their Kalashnikovs, and it was clear to all of them that it was the commander's decision, not some hot head's impulse. No exact death toll is given, but security forces dragged away numerous bodies and shot at anyone who tried to do the same, he heard. Hospitals were closed to the public, funerals were banned, and bodies were held until the family agreed not to speak of the details. "The families of citizens are being tracked down by government forces," the report adds. --Caustic Logic (talk) 15:02, 24 November 2013 (UTC)
 * The Protest(s);

Further:
 * ''The protesters said that the man called
 * Muawiya Jaafar, who is a government accomplice, in their own words, sent two individuals to
 * negotiate with the protester’s center to wait until after the President’s speech but they refused and as
 * a result, the police surrounded the area. There was military security in army uniform. The protesters
 * said that 'the government security forces and Al Shabiha (an armed gang, outside the government)''
 * worked together as one hand, and they are responsible for terrorizing the population and aiming at
 * protesters.'''

In contrast, loyalist Syria News reported what seems to be the pro-government rally version of events: "the peaceful demonstration started from the neighborhood Saliba roundabout towards Yemen, and remained organized without any problems , but acceded to groups who provoked riots , which led to a clash between the two parties , which forced the army to intervene to disperse the demonstrators ." That's Google translated - what "acceded" really says or means isn't clear. But this sounds like two groups of protesters who wound up "clashing" and triggering some kind of security intervention. Both sides would agree on that last part, but the details clearly will differ, as they do on the nature of the peaceful parts of the protest situation. --Caustic Logic (talk) 15:02, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

SyriaNews blamed the shooting on "an exchange of fire between the security authorities and unidentified gunmen in the train station roundabout," with the latter being the ones more likely to shoot innocent civilians just to escalate the situation. They specify "a group of militants were present within the School November 6 in (translates a bad Askntore)," similar to a nearby "mosque of Khalid bin Walid, which is believed to have militants hiding in it." Outside the school, they were "shooting people in the pool area and yard Yemen ( roundabout station)."
 * The Attack

The activists cites the same places in explaining "Gunfire rang out from the side of the police and government forces between the school 6 Tishreen and the train station." Not just a bit further to one side in the school, it was the forces outside near it. This might be worth mapping out visually, but even without that, we can see where this is going. It might deserve a slot on the unseen snipers page, but the allegation is that it was visible and seen fire from ground forces.

2-6 people were injured and/or killed, all unclear: Syrianews reported vaguely but it seems appropriately "fire from an unknown source has led to casualties among the demonstrators have been appreciated by the witnesses between 2 to 6 deaths and injuries " The video record suggests four adult males at least injured in the streets in daylight, only one looking obviously fatal but none seen quite dead yet, plus at least one other adult male, killed elsewhere and seen in the morgue.
 * Victims

The VDC lists two Latakia civilians killed March 30, the morgue one and one street victim. The former is Mohammad Abdulnour, with video attached: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_a3Bl5WfM4 - short-haired young man, shot in lower back, seen only in the morgue, face-down - black pants, black leather jacket, might have been a night-time "protester."

The other VDC listing: Ismael Larri, age 42. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZcRi0uA5R8 - "Shahid Ismail Alera, Latakia" A middle-aged man, short hair and mustache, shot in the head and pouring blood across the sidewalk, still alive but paralyzed, eyes wide open, jaw moving a bit but seemingly paralyzed above and below that and probably to be dead soon. The takbeer men filming him within seconds of getting shot, run from more loud gun shots just around the corner this man is just past. They got video but were unable to pick him up. Other videos show them carrying him, perhaps still alive, I don't know, but these guys keep running away as if they've written him off. --Caustic Logic (talk) 15:02, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

The most widely-shown victim of the "train station massacre" is also upsetting, but may have survived. An older man, bald-headed and paunchy, can be seen laying with guts or belly fat ruptured through a hole in his blood-soaked shirt, and what's concealed under the rest remains unclear. He's alive and conscious but stunned and unable to stand up, looking around with sadness and gesturing for help. No one is helping, just shouting Allahu Akbar and documenting with close-ups, several videos at once, with lots of horrified screaming. Unnerving and unhelpful, by the way. Another video shows protesters carrying him to another spot to lay him down there, still writhing. As noted, the VDC has only two death entries, both with visuals, neither being him, so he might've lived through this. --Caustic Logic (talk) 15:02, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

The above-linked video of the bald man also shows early on a paunchy middle-aged man with glasses shot in the arm, another man wounded in the street, kneeling, no aid and details unclear. --Caustic Logic (talk) 15:02, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

The Activist report on March 30 mentioned that "One of the martyrs of today was Ahmed NoorAllah, a soldier on vacation who participated in the protests." I could find no further information on this: A seller of something with that exact name is listed by that name here for Saliba, Latakia. Unless his name was mangled into the mentioned Mohammad Abdulnour, the VDC doesn't list him, and only re-posting of this report repeat the name in the right context.

Other than Mohammad Abdulnour and perhaps the vacationing protest soldier, those kiled and wounded appear to be markedly non-militant protesters, as opposed to the Salfist gangs authorities called them. If these few victims were part of the same protest the men and boys filming them and running around shouting Allahu Akbar, they stand out as the least militant capable. This is, I've argued, one of the criteria for the unseen snipers, allegedlt of the regime, really provocateurs - too young and scrawny, too old and stiff, too dim or innocent, not Sunni enough, etc. It's the least loss to the cause and the greatest propaganda value, making it a no-brainer obvious choice for false-flag snipers that might be at work here.

And if these killed people were not in the same protest when shot in the street near the Islamist protesters not getting shot, well ... that's bad, and interesting.--Caustic Logic (talk) 15:02, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

Baniyas
Baniyas is a mid-sized, Sunni majority port city, with adjoining oil refinery, on the northern coast of Tartous province.

Baniyas Emirate Plans

 * (copied from Al-Bayda Massacre talk page, Biassi family politics)

Twelve Biassis were among those arrested in the raids of mid-April, 2011 At least one member (possibly among those detained) seems to have been planning very ambitious "protests." A confession aired on May 23 claimed one "Abu Ali" Biassi was the "defense minister" of an "emirate" planned for Baniyas in these first days. According to the informant, a captured driver Abdul Qader Al Zeer, the "emir" to oversee the new kingdom was Sheikh Anis' ( انس ) Aarot. * They met at his home, and they were paid money and provided weapons from outside - explosives, rifles and pistols from Lebanon. Rahman Mosque was their warehouse. There was a plan of minister Biassi's to rig explosives at the Baniyas refinery and the thermal station, to be blown up on the orders of the ministers. They had the explosives, the captive driver says, but this was apparently where they were busted instead. --Caustic Logic (talk) 10:58, 9 August 2013 (UTC)


 * This alleged would-be Emir is apparently alive and well, free in Turkey, and helping the "legitimate representatives of the Syrian people." To our "Sheikh Anis' ( انس ) Aarot," a Reuters report on the rebel push into Latakia, August 2013, cited one "Sheikh Anas Ayrount, a member of the Syrian National Coalition who is from the coastal city of Banias," as touting the closeness of strikes on Assad's ancenstral hometown of Qardaha. Sheikh Anas Ayrout now has his own page here.

Sectarianism in Baniyas

 * (copied from Persecution by Rebels: Alawi/Alawite)

In the early days, before there was a bitter war as excuse for the brutality, at least one Alawi man was singled out for death, in April 2011, by Sunni "protesters." Nidal Jannoud was a 31 year-old farmer from those sinister Alawite villages surrounding Sunni Baniyas, killed in the city when he went to sell his crops, reports TruthSyria. He was callously filmed as he tried to walk on coated in blood, chased by jeering youths who had sliced his face deeply, were threatening him with rocks, etc. He was reportedly then killed by the mob, for being the wrong kind of Muslim. TruthSyria's article (July, 2011) explains "This is the Muslim Brotherhood style. What is more disgusting than the Muslim brotherhood is the media agencies that claimed recently that Nidal has been killed by the Syrian security.. After they kept silent for three months from his death, and after all the reports have been made about him, came some media agencies to claim that the Syrian security killed him.”


 * (new expansion)

According to Syria Tribune, the killing was on April 11, the author being sent morgue photos at that time. That's significant as later postings claimed this was a Shabeeh or spy named Abu Hadi "who appeared in Al Baida Video abusing our fellow revolutionists," almost surely referring to the famous videos from al-Bayda even though that raid wasn't until a few days after the farmer's death. (see April 14, below) So at first they admitted killing him but changed his identity, but later decided to blame security forces for killing an innocent farmer? Weak. This piece also names two youths identified in the videos of the attack, both of who have confessed to their role after being arrested in May, it seems: "P.S.: Omar Ayrout and Yahya Al Rayes confessed later that they killed Janoud. Their confessions appeared on the Syrian TV." Omar Ayrout is the protest leader in Baniyas, and quite likely related to would-be Baniyas emir, Anas Ayrout, mentioned above. --Caustic Logic (talk) 04:42, 25 November 2013 (UTC)

Al-Bayda
Al-Bayda is a mid-sized Sunni-dominated village in the mountains southeast of Baniyas, site of the infamous Al-Bayda Massacre two years after the events covered here.

April 14, 2011
(copied from Al-Bayda Massacre talk page Looking for something else, I came across this: activist videos of a April 14, 2011 raid on al Bayda. -- Petri Krohn (talk) 04:22, 21 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Hezbollah leader: Most Syrians believe in al-Assad – CNN's Arwa Damon on video
 * Protester who exposed lies at the heart of Syria's regime
 * I remember seeing video from that, same square we're studying, dozens of men bound and laid face-down. Soldier-types sometimes stood on them and jumped up and down. It was on a list of videos I was slapped with of gov't brutality, and the only one I felt was genuine and not fake. --Caustic Logic (talk) 10:13, 21 July 2013 (UTC)
 * CNN shows some activist video (in thumbnail size) from April 16th, used to establish the that the roundup scene was genuine and happened in al Bayda. They do this by giving the viewer a tour of the central square. We have very little footage from the scene and many things still need to be placed on the map, including the cafeteria with the 30 burnt bodies. We should find this video for reference. -- Petri Krohn (talk) 11:35, 21 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Apart for searching videos for the name linked above, here is something to start with: -- Petri Krohn (talk) 11:46, 21 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Found it: here. -- Petri Krohn (talk) 12:09, 21 July 2013 (UTC)

One young man given as Ahmad Biassi was shown on a video of this time, in the al-Bayda square, holding his ID card and perhaps announcing his defection or anti-government beliefs. Ahmad was reported in May 2011, by the BBC and others, to have been arrested and tortured to death in a government prison. He appeared on Syrian state TV swiftly refuting that; he claimed to be alive and free, never was arrested, and was surprised and disturbed to hear otherwise. (excerpt, Google translated, using a slightly wrong name spelling)
 * Syrian television broadcast on Saturday night to meet with "Ahmed Biash" refuted what it aired and claimed some satellite channels inflammatory that he had died after being arrested by Syrian security forces. And said, "Biash": "I was surprised by what I saw on TV where Al-Arabiya aired on شريطها news story that, the death of the young man Ahmed Biash who is I, under torture in one of the jails or prisons." And stressed, "Biash" he practiced his natural life and that one did not arrest him. The Al Jazeera aired a report which sang, and organized a poem on how to kill him by breaking the neck under Shoes intelligence in the Investigation Branch 285. Al Jazeera said that kill Biash, was under the direct supervision of the senior leaders of the Syrian intelligence, knowing that "Biash" originally was not arrested.