Talk:Khan al-Assal Massacre

Dumped in a Pit
SANA's May 27 report mentioned perpetrators "mutilating the bodies of the martyrs and throwing them in a big hole on the outskirts of the town." A photo run at least with this Facebook post of July 27, 12:34 AM Syria time, seems to show that (see inset). Text, Google translated: "Khan honey .... Photos of the massacre following Anammelt the military personnel God Arahman the" ( خان العسل .... صور المجزرة يلي انعملت بالعسكريين الله يرحمن ) There appears to be around fifteen bodies, at least three in military garb and at least four in civilian clothes, the rest not as clear. One at least seems to be a woman in a pinkish floral dress. They are just tossed into a pile with disdain. There is debris around them as in a random pit used lightly for select garbage. But there is also clean clothing. Were they killed trying to flee? --Caustic Logic (talk) 10:38, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

Complicating UN CW Investigation
(forthcoming)

Reports

 * SANA June 27: 123 Martyrs...:
 * A media source said that the death toll from the massacre that armed terrorist groups committed in Khan al-Assal in Aleppo countryside reached 123 martyrs, with many others still missing.
 * The majority of the victims are unarmed civilians, the source pointed out.
 * Medical tests helped identify 6 of the martyrs, the source said, vowing that the perpetrators will pay a heavy price for their barbarity and affirming that the Syrian people and army are on high alert.
 * The armed terrorist groups committed a genocide against a number of civilians and military personnel in Khan al-Assal town in the countryside of Aleppo.
 * Gang of the so-called Ansar al-Khilafa Brigade admitted committing the terrorist massacre in Khan al-Assal, mutilating the bodies of the martyrs and throwing them in a big hole on the outskirts of the town, in addition to incinerating a number of the martyrs' bodies.


 * AFP July 22: Syria rebels seize...


 * AFP July 27: 150 Killed...


 * Naharnet Newsdesk, 24 July: U.N. Chemical Inquiry Hopes Hit by Fall of Syria's Khan al-Assal:
 * U.N. hopes of investigating chemical weapon attacks in Syria suffered a blow when rebels seized a key town, diplomats said ahead of talks starting Wednesday.
 * ''Opposition fighters took Khan al-Assal from President Bashar Assad's forces two days ahead of the arrival in Damascus of Ake Sellstrom, head of a U.N. inquiry into the use of chemical arms in the 28-month-old conflict, and U.N. disarmament affairs chief Angela Kane.
 * Khan al-Assal was the scene of a deadly March 19 attack that the government blamed on the opposition when it called for a U.N. investigation.
 * "If the government does not control Khan al-Assal then there is little chance they will let U.N. experts in," said one U.N. Security Council diplomat. "There is no opportunity for them to exploit any inquiry now," added a second council diplomat. Both diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the Damascus talks had not started. "But for the UN the longer this goes on the less likely it will be that there is any usable evidence to find."
 * "We have yet to receive the full Russian report relating to their evidence on Khan Al Assal," one western Security Council source told AFP. "We believe the use of chemical weapons is sanctioned and ordered by the Assad regime: Assad built up the stocks of these weapons, trained military units to use them and retains command and control over those units. So the urgent responsibility lies with him to stop them being used," added the source.
 * "We have yet to receive the full Russian report relating to their evidence on Khan Al Assal," one western Security Council source told AFP. "We believe the use of chemical weapons is sanctioned and ordered by the Assad regime: Assad built up the stocks of these weapons, trained military units to use them and retains command and control over those units. So the urgent responsibility lies with him to stop them being used," added the source.
 * "We have yet to receive the full Russian report relating to their evidence on Khan Al Assal," one western Security Council source told AFP. "We believe the use of chemical weapons is sanctioned and ordered by the Assad regime: Assad built up the stocks of these weapons, trained military units to use them and retains command and control over those units. So the urgent responsibility lies with him to stop them being used," added the source.


 * Khan al-Assal Massacre makes UN's CW investigation impossible


 * Associated Press July 29: National Coalition condemns soldier killings ...:
 * Syria’s main exiled opposition group condemned Sunday the reported execution of scores of government soldiers by rebels in a northern Syrian village earlier this week. The Turkey-based Syrian National Coalition said in a statement that it was forming a commission to investigate the incident in Khan al-Assal. ... “Those involved in such crimes will be held accountable,” the SNC statement said.


 * As SANA reports, Ja'afari claimed today at UN GA that the "Massacre of Khan al-Asal has been committed to kill the witnesses who would testify in front of the general secretariat committee on the identity of who has used the chemical weapon in Khan al-Asal". Corroborated (that he said it) by Innercitypress who also report about the pathetic machinations with the new SNC headclown. RIA Novosti has an article about it as well, just out but in German, which made me look up the other sources. Seems a bit like a tall tale I would spontaneously say. Fadel over at SyrPer (in small bits over the days) has the line that the SAA more or less deliberately let the "rebels" take back Khan al-Assal last week because "they threw everything they had at it" and "it wasn't worth holding". And that a logistical mistake was made while leaving the area - or even some mole created confusion, MI investigates according to him - so that the people who he says were "SAA, NDF and some civilians" were caught and killed. --CE (talk) 21:59, 29 July 2013 (UTC)
 * CE, thanks! Excellent adds. The witnesses things sounds general - soldiers were gassed, soldiers are killed. But to the extent the Ottoman rats have anyone's name, they might be trying to eliminate the brain attached to that name. Or better yet, compel them to change stories on video, then have "the regime" kiill them for breaking script. We probably won't know one way or another if this is happening. --Caustic Logic (talk) 21:37, 30 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Here's an elaboration on this. It seems the conquest was indeed irrational ("throw everything at it") from a military point of view, so maybe it's not that far fetched that the aim was indeed to get rid of witnesses. Text is again a somewhat flawed translation from German but to his credit, the original writer uses an even more sophisticated German than apxwn - not easy to translate. --CE (talk) 10:59, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

Videos

 * Mass execution of Syrian Soldiers coincide with CW investigation - Khan Al Assal - Posted by Syrian Girl, July 27, 2:28. Compilation video


 * Syrian Rebels killed 14 Assad shabiha by amazing Storm in Khan Al asal - Posted by Syria for You and Me (check their logo), July 25, 1:20. 14 bodies along a wall by a swimming pool, and inside the home there. Extremely blurry, around solar noon (1 PM).


 * 18+ Syria - Assad Suffers Heavy Casualties in Khan Al Asal Clashes with Rebels 7-21-13 IslamYVChannel3, July 21, 0:28. Standing over several killed soldiers in camouflage


 * 18+ Syria General Killed Fleeing Battlefield in Khan Al Asal as Rebels Defeat Assad Army 7-21-13 Posted by Souria2011archives, July 21. Three more dead soldiers in the bed of a truck smiled over by a crowd of rebels. The general's ID card is readable to Arabic readers.


 * 18 Syria - Assad Shabiha War Criminal Killed in Khan Al Asal Clashes With Rebels 7-22-13 Posted by SyriaDailyNews, July 24, 1:14 Desc: "Hard Core Assad Shabiha War Criminal Killed in Khan Al Asal Clashes With Rebels 7-22-13 This video shows the body of a shabiha shown torturing a 18 Syria." Possible match, possibly not.


 * Insurgents Interrogate Syrian Soldier Before Executing him - he tells them nothing Posted by Syrian Girl, July 26, 0:27. Included in Syrian Girl's compilation with subtitles.


 * +18: Syrie/Massacre: ASL/Al Nosra exécute les captifs (civils et soldats) à Khan al-Assal à Alep. Posted by Syrie*Syria* Siria سوريا July 27, 2:19. Has a good matching of several of the soldiers/men seen before execution with the piled bodies after (see around 1:55).


 * 18+ Syria #2 Red Crescent Recovers Dead Assad Soldiers in Khan Al Asal 7-25-13 Posted by Souria2011archives, July 25, 0:31

Photos
Photos with the bodies on blue tarps. First is the best view of this scene, first image below. This I got second-hand from a short article, but is clearly the same scene captured in two other photos run with the original SANA report of the 27th. The first time I saw that re-posted, the first two pictures were missing but all the video grabs following remained. Then the second one re-appeared, the second scene below. A Google image search suggests just which view of the same scene is the first image, and it's not the same as image 1 here, so when I get a full-res copy of that it will be #3 at right below. --Caustic Logic (talk) 09:37, 29 July 2013 (UTC)