Talk:Deir Al-Asafir Playground Bombing

Why a Playground?
Obviously, whoever would intentionally decided to use an occupied playground as the site of a cluster-bomb massacre had the intent of demonizing the Syrian government. If it could be proven a fighter jet dropped it, it would be pretty well proven it was the government itself was responsible, but accident couldn't be ruled out, especially with as little as we know about what the place was next to. But until we can know this was dropped by the Air Force, there are two broad alternatives to what the rebels are telling us (which will sort out in likelihood as the research develops): 1) there was no cluster bomb, but something else, with the gathered bomblets being some sort of a fake 2) I imagine some cluster munitions could be owned by the gov. anyway but stolen, or bought in from wherever. And it could be some are made to go off by impact triggering sensitive enough to take advantage of the little mechanisms one would find in a playground, but only when occupied. A see-saw, in particular, might do the trick with a little digging. 3) There are kinds that can be fired from a mortar, etc. --Caustic Logic (talk) 13:46, 27 November 2012 (UTC)
 * There's speculation and indications (f.e. here following) that what they really "captured" wasn't the Air Force base, but a helicopter graveyard near it. Could it be that the shown "bomblets" are some old stuff from that graveyard? Would there be really that many unexploded if it were really cluster bombs?
 * From what i've read I think the "playground" was more like an abandoned open piece of land, but i'll have yet to look into it (am reluctant to watch the vids). --CE (talk) 12:38, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

text sources
I suspect SANA will have something to say. Incidentally, the cited Sept. source is not cached-at least on my end, the site's available again. --Caustic Logic (talk) 11:42, 27 November 2012 (UTC) * Assad's brutal retaliation kills 10 Syrian children in cluster bomb attack Loveday Morris, the Independent. November 26, 2012.
 * The strike in the village of Deir al-Asafir came just hours after rebels seized a key military airbase in the area, leading to speculation that the government was taking retribution as it attempts to keep a grip on power in the face of mounting rebel gains. Reports also suggested that those opposed to Bashar al-Assad's government also took a hydroelectric dam yesterday in the east of the country.
 * The London-based Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at eight...
 * The Syrian regime has denied using cluster munitions, saying it does not possess them, but their use has been documented by human rights groups and activists with increasingly frequency.
 * (So either the government's lying, or someone else in Syria is somehow using them.)
 * The capture follows a series of significant rebel gains over the past few days, with the FSA claiming to have seized the airbase at Marj al-Sultan on Sunday. However, there were conflicting claims yesterday as to whether they still held the base.


 * Syrian planes bomb olive press factory Bassem Mroue. AP. November 27, 2012.
 * The state-run news agency SANA also reported heavy clashes between rebels and troops near Damascus airport, without giving further details.
 * US-based Human Rights Watch said Tuesday that evidence showed government airstrikes using cluster bombs killed at least 11 children near the capital on Sunday.


 * VIOLENCE INTENSIFIES IN SYRIA, 10 CHILDREN KILLED IN PLAYGROUND BOMBING Worldcrunch. Nov. 26, 2012.
 * The Local Coordination Committees (LCC) of Syria said on Monday that a MiG fighter jet dropped the cluster bomb in the village of Deir al-Asafir, east of the capital Damascus.
 * Rami Abdulrahman, of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, was hesitant in verifying the claims, saying it is not entirely known what happened.


 * Syrian troops kill "terrorists" nationwide, activists report intense shelling by gov't troops Xinhua. November 26, 2012.
 * The Syrian troops on Monday killed " terrorists", including non-Syrians, in the central province of Homs and carried similar operations against members of al-Qaida- linked al-Nusra Front near the capital Damascus and northern Idlib province, the state media said, as activists reported heavy shelling by the government troops on rebels' strongholds nationwide.
 * A day earlier, activists said the rebels captured an airbase near the capital Damascus but withdrew later. The clashes at Marj al-Sultan base on the outskirts of Damascus claimed the death of at least 15 rebels and eight soldiers, activists said.
 * In hotspots around the capital Damascus, SANA said, the army units eliminated several armed groups that belong to the al-Nusra Front in the towns of Hajjira, Thiabia, Mashtal and Yalda.
 * It said some of the most dangerous "terrorists" were killed during the army showdown in those areas.
 * Also on Sunday, activists said at least nine children were killed when Syrian war jets hammered Damascus' suburb of Deir al- Asafir. Yet, the activists' reports could not be checked independently.

Videos

 * القنابل العنقودية التي القيت على البلدة (cluster bomblets)
 * 25 11 Deir Al Asafeer Damascus أوغاريت دير العصافير, مجزرة جديدة بقنابل عنقودية (fighters inspect the bomblets, re-visit the scene of the disrupted tea party, some forensic clues, then the dead and injured being tended to, and more clues yet)
 * Partial copy - better resolution? القنابل العنقودية التي القيت على البلدة


 * مجزرة دير العصافير.25\11\2012 (main scene of the dead and injured)
 * مقتل أطفال بمجزرة دير العصافير في سوريا (same, a bit longer, maybe better resolution)
 * +20 مجزرة دير العصافير 25-11-Deir al-Asafeer Massacre 2012 (second view, girls picked up)
 * copy? مجزرة قرية دير العصافير بريف دمشق 25/11/2012 جزء 2
 * copy?


 * The dead kids wrapped: الشهيد الطفل محمد اللحام والشهيدة شهد اللحام
 * اثار القصف بالقنابل العنقوديةعلى قرية دير العصافير (??? hair salon nearby? windows shot up, blood inside))
 * ?? 11/26 Title translation: "Effects of bombing Ancodehaly (?) village of Deir sparrows (al Asafir), Nov. 25. Seems to be a hair salon for men who don't mind the color pink. Its windows have been shot out with bullets, and that might be what caused the copious blood on the floor inside.
 * side-note video: Assad Army Kills Damascus Hairdresser - Bombs House then Shoots Him as He Flees into the street 7-31-12Given date July 26, Tadamon district (a couple miles southwest)


 * Orient News compilation: bombing shown? Probably not.