Talk:Kasab offensive

Death Toll
I've never been clear on this. This report says "Kessab has been the target of three days of brutal cross-border attacks from Turkey by al-Qaeda affiliated armed bands, which have cost 80 lives," no breakdown. The SHoebats decide Islamists massacred 80 Christians. Wikipedia says hundreds to thousands of fighters on both sides were killed over the months-long offensive, but only 11 civilians were killed (cited cited) VDC lists 20 "regime forces" killed in Kasab in the first days, including 5 "Shabiha" of an Asad family, besides another Asad who was 1st lieutenant in political security. Some are rank:unknown. Martyrs from Latakia, March 21-24 = 6 total - one woman, unidentified but from out of town, Tabiyat, was shot "during the clashes with the regime`s army forces and th FSA" and five rebel fighters. From anywhere, martyrdom location Kasab = 9 total, 8 rebel fighters and the woman. No one else. --Caustic Logic (talk) 13:11, 4 December 2015 (UTC)


 * A report on one young man thought killed, as 21 mostly elderly citizens (named) were taken captive. He was one of ten just missing as of April 11, perhaps in addition to the 11 reported as killed, or the same group? --Caustic Logic (talk) 15:41, 4 December 2015 (UTC)

Captives

 * Asbarez, April 11 identifies 21 mostly elderly citizens taken captive, besides ten people missing.


 * Armen Press - captives taken against their will/by trickery to Turkey, but left at the country's only Armenian village, Vakif, where they spoke to this reporter. All had their ID papers confiscated. Women were able to get them back, but not the men. Was the idea no return?


 * Daily Sabah, April 12 A Turkish journalist sets out to debunk "baseless allegations"
 * I interviewed one of the top officials of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Fedaa Majzoub, who organized the evacuation of the Armenians from the town, first to a safe village and finally to Turkey. He said, "Opposition groups have nothing to do with the Armenian population. We captured the town as a part of our war strategy. We are trying to go down to Latakia to increase the pressure on Damascus. Young Armenians and Arabs left the town. We helped the old people and sent them to Turkey."
 * I went to Turkey's only ethnically Armenian village Vakıflı in the Hatay province where the Armenians were settled. When I interviewed the village's headman, he said that the village would accommodate the Armenians until they are able to return. He also added that the government provided all kinds of help. I also spoke to the Armenians who were evacuated from Kasab, and what they told me confirmed the opposition groups' claims. They said the opposition groups did not mistreat them but helped them instead to escape the bombardments.
 * I went to Turkey's only ethnically Armenian village Vakıflı in the Hatay province where the Armenians were settled. When I interviewed the village's headman, he said that the village would accommodate the Armenians until they are able to return. He also added that the government provided all kinds of help. I also spoke to the Armenians who were evacuated from Kasab, and what they told me confirmed the opposition groups' claims. They said the opposition groups did not mistreat them but helped them instead to escape the bombardments.

Note, this is a good case for why Turkey's border needs to stay open to help re-settle the refugees caused by ... y'know, the fighting, and lack of a Syrian government across the border, as the Turks say. --Caustic Logic (talk) 15:41, 4 December 2015 (UTC)


 * Armenpress in May reports 18 elderly captives were sent to Lebanon.

Tower 45
There is a "Hill 45" near the Kasab border crossing. It should not be confused with the TV link tower "Tower 45" further south. There are interesting videos linked to this Wikimapia page, showing the clashes of March 23-25: Note the two Chechen leaders in the freeze frames. -- Petri Krohn (talk) 13:36, 31 March 2014 (UTC)
 * http://wikimapia.org/30348740/Tower-45
 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8AWjNbIYOk (Latakia soldiers Sham at the top of Tower 45 after its liberation 25 32 014)

Kardashian Counter-Offensive
Holy shit. I had seen the town Karadash next to this attacked Armenian town, and I finally decided to see if this imaginary headline, maybe worth a try, would be true: Kardshian Girls' Ancestral Hometown Next to Syrian Village Overrun by Turksih-Tended Terrorists. Kim at least (Not an expert, I presume) made some link already, perhaps. FWIW, the top two results that popped up, and I didn't read this yet:
 * AOL News April 1 Diaa Hadid, AP): Kim Kardashian wades into Syria war debate, potentially bolstered false claims
 * Kim Kardashian has waded into Syria's conflict, calling on fans through Twitter to save the ancient Armenian Christian village of Kassab, whose residents fled as rebels seized control of the hamlet in late March. She appeared to have bolstered false claims by loyalists of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who said Syrian rebels desecrated the village's churches and slaughtered residents. She used the #SaveKessab hashtag that was used to spread the false claims, causing its popularity to explode.


 * Glen Beck's The Blaze, April 2 Kim Kardashian Skewered, Praised for Tweeting Support for Syrian Christian Villagers Overrun by Jihadi Rebels --Caustic Logic (talk) 10:50, 4 April 2014 (UTC)