Abel massacre

Yet another horrific slash-and-burn massacre of families entire (men, women, and children), seems to have occurred March 25 at a farm outside of the town of Abel (Abil, آبل) just south of Homs. 13 bodies were shown on video, of a total 14-18, or maybe 21 civilians killed, from two or maybe three families. The bodies shown by rebels are mangled and badly charred, reportedly stabbed, smashed in the head with rocks, and slaughtered, with signs of at least one sliced throat and one severed head. The unfortunate victims reportedly ranged up to 70 years old, included women, and four young children aged 1, 2, 3, and 9.

Despite the small death toll (compared to most massacres we've opted to cover here), the pain and horror they must have suffered, and the sad fact that monsters like this continue to plague Syria's countryside as the conflict enters its third year, make this well worth attempting to understand. There are many such things worth such a "closer look," and we few members don't always have the time for more than a few. So, no promises. Until this stub page is filled in, see the discussion page for what we manage to pull together.

Two up-front points for now:

The location and timing are troubling. Abel is 7 kilometers south of the rebel hotbed of Baba Amr/Amro, in the south of Homs. Rebels were fully chased from there, by pro-government reports, by March 24, falling back to wherever. And rebels in this natural fall-back spot were the first to find these bodies on the 25th, and film them for shock and propaganda value, already identified the same day "by relatives." It was the first news report in five days from the opposition Baba Amro News.

Consider also the strange opposition story in which the victims and/or images of them changed hands between rebel and pro-government forces. According to the main story proposed, local Alawite Shabiha captured the members of the Al-Ahmed and Al-Mahmoud families, forced them to claim on video that they had just been rescued from "armed gangs," and then commenced the torture and slaughter. Then rebels defeated the Shabiha or chased them away, found the bodies, and perhaps found the coerced videos on the killed killers (not explained clearly). These videos have not been shared yet that we know of; only one available image so far claims to prove that: a heavy-set older woman, shown looking utterly doomed before death (inset, above), and also, they seem pretty sure, the same woman as one of the charred bodies.