Talk:Early December, 2011 Sectarian Killings in Homs

Page start notes
Overview: Early sectarian tensions emerged no later than November, 2011, with kidnappings and killings and such going at least one way between the Sunni and Alawi communities. In the first week of December, people start getting massacred in their homes and dying in the dozens per day. All the the friggin' details are murky. "Shabiha" have already emerged as the boogeyman the "African mercenaries" were in Libya's conflict. --Caustic Logic (talk) 12:10, 2 November 2013 (UTC)

Sorry, I know I start too many pages all over and only get a lot of them in good shape. But this intrigued me and I'm too far along to stop now. Lots of details I'll add in parcels over the next few days as I follow a few further leads. --Caustic Logic (talk) 10:48, 2 November 2013 (UTC)

At the bottom of the page I made a nest for establishing sectarian or other relevant differences between each district of Homs. One useful enough starter is this image by the Guardian showing protest frequency by district in October or November. To some extent the red-shaded areas will reflect rebel/extremist anti-government population and to a bit smaller extent, degree of Sunni majority. Christian and Alawite dominant areas, at least, will be those, or among those, showing up white or white-ish with few or no anti-government protests, and surely never hosted, of their own accord, rallies with motorcycles and mystery shooters.

Consider also one of the first episodes we examined here, from late November, 2011, less than 2 weeks before, came The Killing of Sari Saoud. It happened in Al-Bayada, a heavy protest area in the north by the map above, perhaps heavily Sunni, but inhabited by at least some Christians like 9-year-old Sari Saoud - or at least his mother, Georgina Mtanious-Jamal. They had been hiding from the shooting until it was calm enough they ventured out on the morning of November 26. They made it safely to the store to get Sari a biscuit; Georgina wore a crucifix necklace (perhaps as protection) as she held his hand. But a low-level bullet tore clear through his chest, armpit-to-armpit, killing him instantly. His mother screamed for help, and some local activists (no sniper rifle visible) rushed right in to save him. They drove off with her son's body while she followed the trail of blood until it ended. Apart from her, they filmed his body, blaming army snipers, and demanding a foreign bombing campaign. Georgina was eventually fetched and filmed falling on her son's body, right before she demanded he finally be taken to a hospital before he died. Of course he was dead, and once she had confirmation, at the national hospital, she spoke to Addounia TV, blaming the same rebels for the killing and propaganda use of her son, lamenting that if the army had been there, her son would not have been killed.

So ... when a person is reported and even filmed (by rebels) after being killed (by "regime forces") in a protest-heavy neighborhood, of the same city just over a week later, as with all the cases on this page, keep this story in mind. --Caustic Logic (talk) 06:40, 3 November 2013 (UTC)

Surface Level Reports, December 5
I start with a report from al-Jazeera's Rula Amin in Beirut, hearing from Homs on the phone. Note time, 19:27 it says, last modified 16:27, so apparently GMT vs. Syria time (GMT+3).
 * Sixty-one people have been killed in the Syrian central city of Homs, according to Al Jazeera's Rula Amin ... Among those killed were 34 Sunnis and 27 Alawites, she said. It was not immediately clear who was behind the violence.

(other details in other reports below) It's not clear over what span this happened, but the 5th was a Monday. Her mention of a sectarian breakdown is something few other sources mention, so I emphasize it here - roughly half-Sunni, half-Alawi, suggesting perhaps a proportionate tit-for-tat. She cited partly the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), with quotes I cannot find on their site, apparently given directly to AFP for a report.

A French search might help, but I found an English version of the AFP report here at Google News and almost nowhere else Google showed me. In part, it said:
 * The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said one activist reported seeing "the bodies of 34 civilians, in a square in the pro-regime neighbourhood of Al-Zahra, who had been abducted by the shabiha on Monday."
 * The civilians, it said, had been seized from several "anti-regime neighbourhoods" in Homs, which has been targeted by a brutal crackdown on almost nine months of anti-regime dissent.

Anti-regime, seized by Shabiha, dumped in a pro-government, Alawite, area. It's quite clear these are the 34 Sunnis. In reality though, seized from rebel areas is the same as kidnapped in rebel-held areas. Homs and at one point most of its neighborhoods were at least somewhat mixed. Gulf News specifies this all the same Monday: "34 bodies were dumped in the streets of Homs on Monday night. Homs-based activist Mohammad Saleh said there was a spate of kidnappings and killings in the city earlier Monday."

Enduring America was already on the scene as well in late 2011, assessing the first reports:
 * ''2029 GMT: The latest report from the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights:

The death toll on Sunday 4 December 2011 was 40 martyrs including 5 defected soldiers and 35 civilians, killed by ‘Shabeeha’ and military and security forces.''
 * This report is slightly different from a claim made only 45 minutes ago by the Observatory that 29 died in Homs. Both are alongside an AFP article, again citing the Observatory, claiming that 34 people who had been kidnapped earlier in the day had been found dead in a central square in the city.
 * At this moment, we do not know the reason for the varying figures.
 * At this moment, we do not know the reason for the varying figures.

I'm not sure I or we can fully sort it out either with the kind of information available, but I bet we could shed some light on it.--Caustic Logic (talk) 10:48, 2 November 2013 (UTC)

SOHR
The earlier SOHR report Enduring America cited = the Dec. 5 posting of the grand tally of 29 dead in Homs on Dec. 4. 29 is similar to 27 - is this mainly the Alawites? The report doesn't make it seem so.
 * The death toll was 29 martyrs in the city of Homs on Sunday, 4 December 2011. Homs, the besieged city for over two months, was subject to a brutal fierce attack by Syrian security and military forces and hundreds of ‘Shabeeha’.

Broken down, 13 killed in shelling of Al-Nazeehen and Al-Zeyton, "heavy gunfire in the neighbourhood of Al-Bayaada at security barricades surrounding the neighbourhood" (suggesting an attack from without) killing 3, including a woman - one shot in Juret Al-Shayyah - one tortured body handed over by security forces, from Baba Amr, in Deir Baalba two tortured bodies found. Further:
 * ‘Shabeeha’ have stormed into the neighbourhoods of Al-Sebaa and Al-Duraib," looted shops, and committed "one of the cruellest crimes as a father and his three children, including a daughter, were killed by gangs of ‘Shabeeha’ after midnight on Saturday in the neighbourhood of Al-Wa’er, Homs." That's early on the 4th, the worst, most criminal thing mentioned here yet. It gets scrutiny below (see . "3 more people were killed in the village of Izz Ad-Din in the city of Al-Rastan, Homs, in gunfire by security forces."

Did I count 27 to the cited 29, with at least one death apparently predating December 4? That's still very like the reported 27 Alawites. Is is it possible all of these are Alawites and/or other folks that extremists might target, especially in revenge for a perceived crime against their own kind?

LCC Report, Dec. 9
The events of November and December were clearly alarming to people who opposed the government, supported an armed uprising, and appealed to liberal foreign-powers who would frown on opposition crimes against Alawite civilians. One of those, the Local Coordinating Committees (LCC) acted with a lengthy and fascinating analysis posted on their site (in Arabic) on December 9: '''[http://www.lccsyria.org/3650 تقرير عن الأحداث في حمص. نقطة نظام!] (A report on the events in Homs. A point of order!).''' I note that less than nine months after protests and fighting began, the situation there had already strained past blaming everything on the regime, as the LCC always tries to do. Local hot heads were raiding Alawite neighborhoods, shooting at random, abducting and killing in revenge, acting like "Shabiha," for the same done to them. There was apparently an information counter-offensive to previous attempts to blame the regime alone - largely just rumors, they assure us - but it was apparently effective. The situation was, and had to be addressed as, a "both sides" problem.

The FSA was already on the scene and a good force overall to be sure, "protecting the peaceful protesters," and even going after their tormentors on occasion. The LCC wished for "the officers and soldiers of the free army to continue their role and not to conduct actions that damage to the line of peaceful revolution of rising or damage to the Syrian national fabric." A few already had, but the overall blame was clearly on "the regime's desperate attempts through all this to provoke sectarian conflicts between the city's neighborhoods inhabited by Syrians of various denominations" In this and other ways, they pointed out, "Homs, is a mini Syria," full of all sects who got along fine until the regime and the "Shabiha" entered the picture. Anyway, their relation of recent events is what matters. I'll provide long excerpts - Google translated with sporadic repairs, and minimal notes here:


 * ...last month began to witness a remarkable increase in the number of incidents that consist principally of retaliatory kidnappings and abductions, and are mainly through taxi drivers of the security forces and the Shabiha, or through security patrols and barriers that are handed over to the Shabiha, and aims to swap abducted from both sides , or ransom demand.


 * There are no precise numbers or even approximate abductees from both sides, but that most of them are not advertised, but are dealing with the incident negotiate through intermediaries ... But things began to take a more serious turn over the past few days


 * The day Monday and until the late hours of the night, escalated things to the extent the horrendous incidents of sectarian killings claimed the lives of "dozens" of victims ... sectarian mobilization who bears the system alone is responsible, under the conflict and confusion in the information and a flood of rumors spread across Facebook pages and across sites electronic.


 * Information Office of the Local Coordination Committees tried to stand on the truth of what happened on this day, though, he could Activists committees field collected information through hearing the testimonies of various parties (certificates obtained from the district Zahra inspired Nozha are activists in those areas).


 * Striking that contradictory stories not only on the day of the incident, but until the moment of preparing this report , we could not reconcile all the stories together, both in the neighborhood one or between different neighborhoods , which confirms that the war rumors and attempts mobilization sectarian was the main objective of what happened.
 * Agreed, plus probably actual intimidation. --Caustic Logic (talk) 12:10, 2 November 2013 (UTC)


 * The points that we boycott ( مقاطعتها ) among different accounts are Next:
 * Some of the events recounted as occurred in neighborhoods loyal and rebel alike, and that such killing 34 people, and to detail the same in each of the neighborhoods loyal and rebellious, which demonstrates that much of what is traded on that day was to provoke panic and pitting neighborhoods against each other.
 * A lot of details that have been passed down dramatically on that day via Facebook pages and websites and others, turned out to be unfounded, and aims mainly to the mobilization of sectarian and exciting neighborhoods against each other (such as solid loyal to one of the mosques ! Or dance on the bodies of the rebels )
 * Until the moment there are no precise numbers of dead from the parties nor an agreement between the novels (stories) about the kidnapping dates of exposure to kill and murder places
 * The significant role played by the bombing of a mosque in the neighborhood of the displaced what caused the burning missile parts of it, and by the armed group belonging to a member of Parliament and Wael Al - Melhem, resulting in significant congestion in rebellious neighborhoods . Which led to angry reactions prompted some youths in these neighborhoods to attacking pro neighborhoods , what resulted in the shooting of a mutual dense , random and extended to include most of the city's neighborhoods .
 * it goes on and on putting things further yet into their desired anti-regime context. --Caustic Logic (talk) 12:10, 2 November 2013 (UTC)


 * On the same day was breaking into a number of rebellious neighborhoods, including Khalidiya Jouret Shiah and destroy the door (a district something Bab), and the arrest of many of the demonstrations, activists and others killed. Some young men these neighborhoods in return abducted one shabeeh named Samer Al-Ahmad, and when I learned the pro neighborhoods attack on public transport and the kidnapping of six women of rebellious neighborhoods , then negotiations took place and was released for "Shabih" for the release of women
 * The army on the same day, and the reaction retaliation to the kidnapping of "Shabih" Samer al-Ahmed, burned eight shops on the one hand the grove , was also to bring an abducted from one of the neighborhoods rebellious put in the trunk of the car until the arrival Az-Zahraa and then take it out and assault him with beatings and abuse in front of the people neighborhood, and then they brought seven other nomads and they took off their clothes and strongly Dharoppem with humiliation and abuse before being released .
 * We're past the rumors and into facts now, right? --Caustic Logic (talk) 12:10, 2 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Followed by all those provocative actions and criminal, which met on the same day , while it is clear that he planned to aim and clear, heavy gunfire and random in all districts of the city , knowing that Az-Zahraa armed entirely by the system since the beginning of the revolution , " so that the water tanks in sometimes exploded mostly because of the young men in the neighborhood opened fire on the roofs of buildings , "according to the neighborhood activist .


 * Likely many activists and eyewitnesses that many of the corpses were thrown to the detainees and kidnapped was killed and then throw their bodies in that day to inflame the conflict between neighborhoods


 * What could be documented until the moment of the names of the martyrs in that day because of sectarian incidents:

(victims specifics and other, and some of the above, to be worked in below)

LCC Daily Reports
The Local Coordination Committees actual website (lccsyria.org) only has daily summaries back to Aug. 2, 2012. Older entries back to Aug. 12, 2011, can be found like these via Uruknet, from somewhere else originally, I presume. Original citations here, content worked in. --Caustic Logic (talk) 13:06, 21 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Syria News - December 4, 2011 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
 * Thus far today, 22 martyrs, including a child and a woman, have been killed by gunfire by the regime’s army and security forces. Homs: 21; Idlib: 1.


 * Syria News - December 5, 2011 (Warning: Graphic Videos)


 * Syria News - December 6, 2011 (Warning: Graphic Videos)


 * Syria News - December 7, 2011 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
 * Today death toll reached 21 martyrs including 5 killed under torture. 14 of them were in Homs, 3 in Idlib, and 1 in each of Zamalka in Damascus Suburbs, Marea in Aleppo Suburbs, and Tarmisah in Hama Suburbs.

CDV
The Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria (CDV), is connected to/primarily informed by the Local Coordination Committees, but has a cool database.

Daily total of "martyrs" in Homs province, Dec. 1 - 7
 * Dec. 1: 11 martyrs
 * Dec. 2: 2 martyrs
 * Dec. 3: 8 martyrs
 * Dec. 4: 25 martyrs At least six outside of Homs city, but still of interest. Inside Homs, Karm Al-Zeitoon seems hardest-hit, with six people from there killed. The family of 4 killed in Wa'er happened early in the day, recorded here.
 * Dec. 5: 16 martyrs 3 in Houla (2 Taldou, 1 Kafr Laha), 1 in Talbiseh, one uspecified Homs, one I'm not sure = 10-12 from in Homs city. Five are in Deir Baalbeh including a boy, age 12.
 * Dec. 6: 23 martyrs While previous days list "shooting" for almost every death, for this day "field execution" and detention/torture/execution options are cited for almost everyone. That may or may not reflect an actual change in killings. 23 martyrs, all seemingly from within Homs city. This was the bad day.
 * Dec. 7: 11 martyrs

While the other sources suggest 34 Sunnis abducted, killed, dumped, found, and reported on the 5th, plus whoever else died that day, the CDV records have only 16 listed. Perhaps the daily tallies are from different times and overlap, in addition to missing reports or perhaps exaggerated ones, or delayed reports coming up on the 6th, a deadly day by their records - more field execution and detention-torture than usual. Nasty stuff. --Caustic Logic (talk) 12:42, 2 November 2013 (UTC)

Victim specifics should go in relevant sections below. --Caustic Logic (talk) 12:42, 2 November 2013 (UTC)

Videos

 * Eight Martyrs of family Chuirati massacre in Al Zahra neighborhood  (extremely graphic). Desc:
 * ''5-12-2011 Assad pigs collects 34 men from the rebel city of Homs in the Zahra neighborhood and you kill them and abuse their bodies and dragged in front of the sight of her supporters are honest Alawite sect ( شرفاء الطائفة العلوية )""

Shows: Several men, named, of the Chuirtani (taxi driver) family. Some torture signs, a sliced throat, etc. Not the most graphic. Rebels have them ibodybags (a hodge-podge of styles, black w/white zipper, white, tan) --Caustic Logic (talk) 14:41, 9 January 2014 (UTC) Note: All other sources say they were killed Dec. 6, but this is dated Dec. 5. Uploaded Dec. 6 Youtube time (Dec. 6/7 Syria time)Dec 6 7:20 am, whoever''s time. This possible original poster knows more than most, and it seems theyn were killed and gathered by rebels (in whatever order) no later than early on the 6th, likely late on the 5th - the hours after the incendiary claims of a massacre in Zahraa had gone out. --Caustic Logic (talk) 14:41, 9 January 2014 (UTC)


 * Homs Massacre Homs - part of the massacre happened to Zahra in Homs uploaded Dec. 18 - last modified Dec. 18, 2:45 PM. Desc (Google translated):
 * ''Syria, the last day of the criminal Assad's son and his brother - Homs Haaaaaam part of the massacre Zahra to have occurred in the city 5-12-2011

The body showing signs of torture from fractures and deformity and the parties gunshot to the head and then were burned Martyr way the Nazis did not do like the days of Hitler at the hands of gangs stamens sectarian malevolent'' Shown: old body - normal-build man, blue shorts, bald-headed, big hole in the back, scalp split, skull visible - hard to make out features - clean-shaven - blackened face? Was he burnt, or is that just decay? Reddened flesh all over, lashes, etc. plus decay - sun-baked, frozen, muddied, dessicated. Nasty break and twist of left arm, left leg twisted, lower back (cuts, blood from wounds?). Dead at least five days, possibly longer - cold will inhibit decay. 13 days is possible - the massacre in Zahraa is said to have been of 34 people on Dec. 5. --Caustic Logic (talk) 14:41, 9 January 2014 (UTC)

Al Wa'er Massacre
SOHR reported for (Sunday) December 4 "the city has witnessed one of the cruellest crimes as a father and his three children, including a daughter, were killed by gangs of ‘Shabeeha’ after midnight on Saturday in the neighbourhood of Al-Wa’er, Homs." Waer on Wikimapia, across the groves from most of Homs. This is the Tiba/Teeba family (Arabic: طيبة), as CDV reported it, in the order catalogued (not continuous).

Notes, combined as if fragments of a sentence: "Shabbeeheh came" ... "a Shabbeeheh group opens fire on a whole family killing it" ... "In shooting by Shabiha which lead to kill the whole family." A single video accompanies these entries, dated December 3 whoever's time but posted on the 4th by Youtube's "usually yesterday" California time. It shows at three of them in a rebel field clinic. A bald-headed man (Mohammed) with puncture wounds all over his head, face-down and all else covered, and a boy (Morhaf it seems) with bloodied face, beaten, have blood from ears or temples. The girl, Hind, has this rebel doctor trying hard to show us a gaping wound in the back of her neack and/or head that has left her head a bit loose. It's too dark to really see it. At the end, a living boy with head bandages being treated (unrelated? or Molhem just before he passed away?) --Caustic Logic (talk) 13:14, 2 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Mohammad Teeba, 45 (martyr #4890)
 * Morhaf Teeba 16 (4893)
 * Molhem Teeba 11 (4895)
 * Hind Tiba 14 (14689 - reported 10,000 people later?)
 * Wife/mother ever reported?

A possible fifth member, killed the next day: Ziad Mued al-Tibai Martyr #13766, reported before Hind but way after the others. From Ghuta (next to Wa'er, shot on Dec. 5, photo included as he looked alive in poor lighting (young man, perhaps 30), videos also included. Tibai vs. Tiba = close, Converting to Arabic gives طيباني vs. طيبة, so it's not just a transliteration difference. But could well be the same (uncommon) name, just written down differently even in Arabic. --Caustic Logic (talk) 04:21, 4 November 2013 (UTC)
 * The LCC lists on December 6 a video: (GRAPHIC) Martyr Ziad Ma'd Al-Tibani Murdered by Assad Forces.

Dr. Mayada Saiouf
LCC Dec. 4:
 * Homs: Ms. Mayada Mohamad Anis Souyouf, a lecturer at the university, was martyred due to security forces' direct gunfire at a checkpont at Al-Mahatin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ9j48C9jMM ... Homs: Martyrdom of Doctor Mayada Saiouf in Khaldieh neighbourhood by security gunfire.

CDV entry: Mayada Mohammad Anees Syouf from Bab Tadmor. Occupation: Teacher in University. Date of death: 2011-12-04. Cause of Death: Shooting. Notes: On the Matahen Checkpoint while she was going to the university."

On the video: Apparently rebels/opposition ran the "checkpoint" where she was shot - it was they, not security forces, who wound up with her body and all papers to prove who she was. The grieving elderly mother seems authentic too, and less than happy to see her departed daughter wrapped and in rebel hands as a propaganda tool. Visible marks: right side of her face, small wound, smaller scars, a black eye, perhaps from when the RPG first hit her car. --Caustic Logic (talk) 13:48, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

Karm el-Zeitoun "Shelling"
Six martyrs from Karm el-Zeitoun are listed for December 4 in the CDV database, all adult males, all but one listed as dying from "shelling." Presumably there was government shelling of some positions of rebels who were based there. But of course either side is clearly capable of that extremely vague activity, if it even happened.
 * Abdel Kareem Abdallah, age 28. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shhin1kdU7k
 * From what we can see in this video, the type of shells used might be deduced from what they did to him: twisted his lower right leg, poked a very few tiny holes in each lower leg, scooped two big pits into the soft flesh of his left armpit area, maybe smashed out his teeth and generally beat and bloodied his face, and definitely tore a big hole in his jaw like a bullet exit wound or worse. Maybe an expert can say if Shilka shells or what exactly will cause this kind of wide-ranging injuries. Because otherwise I'd say feet shot out from under him and then detention-torture-execution was the right box to check.The scooping is also done to the inner thighs and groin in many cases I've seen. Rebels always wind up with the bodies of course. They don't always call it "shelling." --Caustic Logic (talk) 14:24, 4 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Ayman Al Hindi "killed while rescuing a wounded" (paramedic?) video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpJEa7PLXjM
 * Mass bleeding from the head, likely gunshot, badly charred lower body, pants tattered. Some kind of shelling, yes, in part. Possibly also a hole poked in his throat near collarbone level. Civilian dress, lightly-bearded, long-sleeved dark button-up shirt, maybe professional . Another person is here, pretty completely charred, face all black and unreadable, body messed up. Not probably the person he was rescuing; the puffed out tongue we can see, aside maybe from intense burning (?), will definitely be caused by several days' decay. --Caustic Logic (talk) 14:24, 4 November 2013 (UTC)

The one killed by shooting:
 * Abdallah Yoossef Al Khedr, age 32 No video.
 * Maher Al Mosay'ad No video
 * Manhal Al Sha'lan No video
 * Maher Botoor Al Mesh'al video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b02M6jej3ro
 * Same or variant video of the scene with the burnt body, linked to Mr. al-Hindi. In fact just who is who in this scene is unclear to me. There's a third victim, looking more simply shot and clean, already wrapped in white. Possible rebel fighter. --Caustic Logic (talk) 14:24, 4 November 2013 (UTC)

Izz ad-Din Killings
SOHR reported for December 4 fatalities "3 more people were killed in the village of Izz Ad-Din in the city of Al-Rastan, Homs, in gunfire by security forces." VDC listings: Two from Rastan Safer Al Ali and Qasem Samer Ayoub, one from Iz Eddin specifically: Mukhles Mohammad al-Ammori --Caustic Logic (talk) 10:48, 2 November 2013 (UTC)

34 Bodies in Zahra
The widely-cited SOHR via AFP report of Dember 5 said that "one activist reported seeing "the bodies of 34 civilians, in a square in the pro-regime neighbourhood of Al-Zahra, who had been abducted by the shabiha on Monday." Note the rapidity of the allegation: people were abducted, killed, seen, and reported all within the same day, Monday the 5th of December. This incendiary claim is what most sources ran with - presumably Sunni people abducted from anti-government areas, to the pro-government and Alawite-majority district of Zahra (Wikimapia), killed by Shabiha and displayed there for activists to see - but fail to record.

For one person to happen by and see that many bodies suggests they're in one area, or not terribly scattered, and that 34 clearly would be an at least number, unless the activist knows more than his story allows. I haven't yet seen any visual proof of bodies piled, or scatted, in Zahra, when I imagine I would have if there was such a dramatic image. There are videos of some people who died that day or before, but in rebel contexts - field clinics or morgues. If these are not the same, we have perhaps zero visuals on these crucial 34. --Caustic Logic (talk) 07:40, 3 November 2013 (UTC)

LCC Dec. 9 "point of order" explains what happened after the claim was publicized:
 * The day Monday and until the late hours of the night, escalated things to the extent the horrendous incidents of sectarian killings claimed the lives of "dozens" of victims ... sectarian mobilization for which the system alone is responsible, under the conflict and confusion in the information and a flood of rumors spread across Facebook pages and across sites electronic.

It was clearly opposition people making the still-unproven claim that Alawites killed 34 people in Zahraa. How is the government to blame for unspecified sectarian killings responding, most likely, to that claim?

Further specifics are hard to find, but when activists can only say "civilians," we can guess they were all fighting-age males, and quite likely not civilian (if they ever existed, that is). The Chuirtani video's description specifies 34 men. With plenty of time to fill in all the blanks, the VDC still shows a total of only 16 "martyrs" from all of Homs province on the 5th. None are specified as killed in Zahraa. One was listed as detained and tortured, but in the town of Talbiseh. The Hilal men (3) seem good matches, but were reported killed by "gunfire at a checkpoint in front of the Petrochemical Faculty in the neighborhood of Deir Baalba."

The most likely possible matches are a few of the shooting victims from districts closest to Zahraa (Cairo Street, Migrants district) These areas are also generally loyalist, but they're where the later victims were culled from (see below). Rebel records imply that living peacefully next to Alawites gets you killed. Abdallah Khadoor Adult Male, Nazeheen/Migrants district, dangerously near Zahra, and died Dec. 5, but it's not specified he died there. Obayada Mohammad Waleed Al Hamawi might be a fit; he was killed by shooting on December 5, "at the hands of gangs and shabeeha Assad," but just where is not clear (it's usually not, in these cases). He's from Wa'er, which is some distance from Zahraa. That's two maybes.

The 8 Chuirtanis (section below) were "originally from the nearby village of Zafarana," but had moved/fled to "the Abbasid near Az-Zahraa," and were killed in Zahraa. This is the biggest massacre scene shared on video, and thus proven to exist. The video is titled "Eight Martyrs of family Chuirati massacre in Al Zahra neighborhood." It's dated 12-5 in the text. All other sources say they were killed Dec. 6, and the video was uploaded Dec. 6 Youtube time (Dec. 6/7 Syria time), last modified Dec 6, 7:20 am (GMT?). This possible original poster knows more than most, and it seems they were killed and gathered by rebels (in whatever order) no later than early on the 6th. They were likely killed late on the 5th - after the claims of a massacre in Zahraa had gone out - and thus still too late to fit the bill. And then, maybe they were killed earlier in the day, and represent almost 25% of the 34 victims. That's eight maybes.

The Abed brothers seem like good fits; from Deir Baalba, abducted in Zahraa itself while handing out "flour notes," tortured and killed (section below). But that was the 7th. Omar Ahmad Semha died by Kidnapping - Torture - Execution, unusually given a locale: Zahraa district. It also says that was on the 6th. We might consider the body found only on the 18th, "part of the massacre happened to (in?) Zahra" but dumped somewhere rebels had access, implicitly on the 18th but no earlier. No useful date can be read from this. That's not a total search, but only about 10 maybes can be found, and none clearly shown to fit the bill, when the bill is: abducted to and killed in Zahraa, on the 5th. The combined implication is the unseen 34 no one's ever redacted, plus all these killed there afterwards, with the first part left extremely in doubt.

While the LCC blamed the government, the case they made for that on December 9 even better fits the motives one could imagine behind Sunni extremist provocation and massacres, for which there is much evidence:
 * (It is) striking that there were contradictory stories not only on the day of the incident, but until the moment of preparing this report. We could not reconcile all the stories together, either within one neighborhood or between different neighborhoods, which confirms that the war rumors and attempts at sectarian mobilization was the main objective of what happened.

The LC's overall recommended bias is that the rebel version should be believed, and so the other version was made up to create discord. But that's just not likely. --Caustic Logic (talk) 12:14, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

Deir Balba, Dec. 5/6
Deir Ba-alba on Wikimapia, the big district in the northeast corner of Homs connecting rural areas of Reef Homs to built-up areas close to Central Homs. Frequent protests. CDV entries listed from there, died this day - 5 martyrs:
 * Ayoob Mohammad Al Findi, age 12. Killed by "shooting," he can be seen on a Youtube video a bit too uncovered, no bullet wound visible, but he's had surgery. Belly bandaged up, a removed organ (small) in a plastic baggie with his body. A less helpful surgical stab is un-covered to the right of that. Something - smoke or smudges under his nose and on his shroud. --Caustic Logic (talk) 14:52, 2 November 2013 (UTC)

Otherwise, adult men were listed killed, all civilian.
 * Khaled Al Shami Shooting, no details.
 * Three apparent brothers, Mohammad Hilal Hilal Abdel Nasser Deebu Hilal and Qasem Sa'id Hilal, both "shot by the Petrochemistry checkpoint," likely near the refinery southwest of town, and likely not where they really were shot. Qasem is listed as "Medecine Student/4th year." the video provided with both. this family may have taken the hit for refusing to cooperate with someone. One has reason to work there, but the alleged fatal family reunion there might have had some interesting back-story. Where chemicals and warfare are concerned, methods of compulsion could be speculated... --Caustic Logic (talk) 08:17, 3 November 2013 (UTC)

LCC adds little but tying Mr. Shami to the same incident. December 5: "Martyrdom of Qassem Said Hilal, Abdulnaser Deebo Hilal, Mohammad Hilal Hilal, and Khaled Shami from gunfire at a checkpoint in front of the Petrochemical Faculty in the neighborhood of Deir Baalba." There are no videos provided as there are for most cases.

No Deir Baalbeh victims appear for December 7, but some continue into the 6th.
 * Two apparent brothers: Khaled Mohammad Al Ayed and Ibrahim Ahmad Al Abed, both killed by Kidnapping - Torture - Execution, notes for both: "Was distributing."
 * Omar Ahmad Semha Kidnapping - Torture - Execution in Zahraa district, it says, but on the 6th.

The LCC report provides video in three instances, the Chuirtanis and both of these Deir Baalbeh men: Omar Ahmed Tolerant = سمحة = smhh = CDV's Semha. And Abed brothers. "Distributing" explained: kidnapped in the Zahra neighborhood when they were handing out flour note." I'm not sure what a flour note is and who's most likely to kidnap distributors of them. --Caustic Logic (talk) 09:49, 3 November 2013 (UTC)

LCC Dec. 6 daily report: Video - Martyr Omer Samha martyred under torturing by the Syrian army in Homs in Syria 2011-12-6 - (GRAPHIC)Brothers Kahlid & Ibrahim Ahmad Al-Abid Tortured & Killed Later: "Homs: Deir Baalbeh: Thousands participating in the funeral procession of the three martyrs Khaled Ahmad Abed, Ibrahim Ahmad Abed and Omar Samha. They are chanting for the martyrs and freedom."

Chuirtani Massacre
LCC's report mentioned the December 5 killings, or perhaps reprisals, continued into the night: "The day Monday and until the late hours of the night, things escalated to the extent of horrendous incidents of sectarian killings that claimed the lives of "dozens" of victims." Sometime December 6, one family loses seven men. Chuirtani/Alchuirtani (per LCC) or Showertani (per CDV) (Arabic: شويرتاني) CDV entries: Each entry says they're from Homs:Zaafaraneh, Cause of Death: Field Execution, Martyrdom location: blank, Notes: "gathered". Duh. We wonder where, by whom, etc. Each entry contains the same video (graphic) of at least some of these men whose bodies at least are gathered under rebel control. One of them at least has a sliced throat.
 * Nasser Hammood Showertani 35, 7 children
 * Qasem Hammood Showertani 27
 * Samer Mohammad Showertani 43, taxi driver, 4 children
 * Hassan Mohammad Showertani, 17
 * Tawfeekq Hammood Showertani 27
 * Ahmad Mohammad Showertani 28
 * Ahmad Hammood Showertani 30, 3 children
 * Zafarana on Wkimapia - rather some 12 kilometer west of Homs and a ways south of the Houla area. --Caustic Logic (talk) 09:11, 3 November 2013 (UTC)

LCC: "Eight people from one family, live in the area of the Abbasid near Az-Zahraa, who are originally from the nearby village of Zafarana paneling." I will try to find this. "Paneling" usually means Talbiseh, north near Rastan. Likely they were displaced by the chaos already to this place closer to central authority, where someone killed them. Abbasid area seems to be Abbasiya on Wikimapia, indeed right by Zahra. --Caustic Logic (talk) 12:10, 2 November 2013 (UTC) and --Caustic Logic (talk) 14:12, 2 November 2013 (UTC)

One clue might be this: The LCC report mentioned how kidnappings were done "mainly through taxi drivers of the security forces and the Shabiha." Samer, age 43, is described as a taxi driver. So it seems possible these killings on the 6th were retaliation for the alleged ones on the 5th, and again rebels who slaughter people are providing at least some of these suspiciously well-documented "martyrs." --Caustic Logic (talk) 07:40, 3 November 2013 (UTC)

Also, December 7 LCC daily report: Syria, Homs 8 related martyrs (Shwetrani Family)were massacred in Zahraa Area 6/12/2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKui0TEuAE0 (same video as above but without English subtitles) And another taxi driver: "Homs: Martyr Karem Hassoun, a taxi driver of "Aeideen" Palestinian camp, has been killed by Assad thugs (Shabiha). "

Hassoun Family
Recall that Samer Chuirtani (see above) was a taxi driver, that class recently accused of carrying out abductions, himself abducted. Perhaps the two sides just had drivers abducting each other at this point. On December 7, another was killed: The LCC's daily summary for December 7 stated: "Homs: Martyr Karem Hassoun, a taxi driver of "Aeideen" Palestinian camp, has been killed by Assad thugs (Shabiha). "  Just because he's from the camp doesn't mean he's a Palestinian, but VDC lists Karem Hassoon from Homs: Mokhayam Aedeen, shot Dec. 7. Notes: Palestinian.

It was the following day two more men of the same name were gunned down in Karm al-Zaytoun (KaZ). Mazen Hassoon They have Video of the martyr, of course, but no further details except Notes: Uncle of. Not difficult to finish: Zyad Mahmood Hassoon of KaZ was also killed December 8, has the same video link, and Notes: Nephew of the martyr Mazen Hassoon. Any relation of either to the Palestinian taxi driver murdered the day before is not stated. It's not hard to see gunmen pouring out of Karem's taxi after it pulled up and they came out to greet him, worried about his disappearance. --Caustic Logic (talk) 14:57, 7 January 2014 (UTC)

Another list (in Arabic) has these three living in all in Karm al-Zaytoun, and includes a fourth family member the VDC missed: Mahmoud Hassoun. That last link does show another KaZ Hassoun man killed weeks later on January 28, just days before two other Hassoun men "from" Khalidiya (that is, it seems, "from" some rebel hostage house there with 130 men and 8 boys from wherever originally) were killed in the Khalidiya Massacre of Feb. 3/4, 2012. --Caustic Logic (talk) 14:57, 7 January 2014 (UTC)

Al-Abrash
The VDC lists one Ahmad Mohammad Al Abrash from Khaledeyeh, as dying 2011-12-04 by Kidnapping - Torture - Execution. Rebels got his body. Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nreORRbf6qk It shows a middle-aged bald man, clean-shaven, stabbed all over the back, shoulders, and head. Second half shows ISlamistas carrying his body to a nearby cemetery and setting to bury him. It seems to be a rushed and unceremonious affair. Arabic name: أحمد محمد الأبرش. They also list a Mohammad Ahmad Al Abrash from Bab Al Derib, died four days later. Cause of Death: Kidnapping - Torture - Execution. Notes: "Driver. Kidnapped by Shabeeheh, tortured and executed." Again rebels got the body and showed the video, and it's the same. This appears to be one and the same guy listed twice.

However on that second day, Dec. 8, Nasser Suleiman Al Abrash from Karm Al-Zeitoon is listed as joining him, via "shooting." (no more details). A sadder note was hit twice with a boy Samer Al Abrash (age 2) and a girl Tasnim Al-Abrash also aged 2, killed Dec. 11 and 12 by shooting. They would seem twins but the boy is from Homs (unspecified) and the girl from Idlibb: Maarshourein (as listed).

Before these, on December 1, possible relative Hazem Sa'id Al Abrash Al Kiyali of Bab Dreib was shot. A civilian, but by the photo, he wore camouflage once. How recently? Whose? Later, Abdul Ilah al-Abrash was one of 130 men killed in the shady Khalidiya Massacre Feb. 4. On Feb. 24, one was taken by shelling, one by shooting, both men from Khalidiya. Hell, just check all 49 Abrash martyrs and you can see the name's bad days, nationwide (largely Homs but also Idlib, Aleppo, and elsewhere). --Caustic Logic (talk) 15:06, 9 January 2014 (UTC)

Military Murders in Early December
VDC Regime forces killed in Homs Dec 3-10 This is a partial, growing list, of only entries with clear signs of being killed in Homs. There are others that likely belong. ML=Martyrdom Location. Method = "shooting" unless specified. Entry # shows who was reported at the time and who had to be added later.


 * Dec 3: Ali Badiea al-Joarani #43,280. Policeman. From: Homs: Khalfah. ML: Blank. Notes: Personnel of al-Bayadhah Police Stationm Homs
 * Dec 4: Alaa Iss Al Khalaf #4,883. Soldier. From: Homs: Nazeheen/Migrants district. ML: blank.
 * Dec 4: Iyad Jihad Suleiman #4,906. Warrant Officer Third Class. From: Lattakia: Rowaimia. (Latakia is Syria's most Alawite province) Age 28. Married and has a child. ML: Homs : Tal Shour.
 * Dec 5: Ghazi Yoossef Sumya. #4,957. Rank: Colonel. Province: Lattakia. Area: Qerdaha. Age: 47. Married and has 3 children. Date of death: 2011-12-05. ML: Homs: Bab Amr.
 * Dec 5: Asaad Nadeem Abdul-Latief #4,939. Warrant Officer First Class. From Homs: Sadad. (A Christian town). Notes: Notes	Personnel of Political Security Branch in Homs.
 * Dec 5: Nawar Ahmad Suleiman #4,932. Sergeant Major. From Homs: Hazza. Age 25. Single. ML: Homs.
 * Dec 5: Nabeel Jaber Suleiman #4,391. Warrant Officer First Class. From Homs: al-Muhajireen Neighborhood. Notes: Was Killed at el-Souq Area. Facebook Page
 * Dec 6: Abdel Raheem Suleiman. #4,953. Rank: Colonel. Province: Homs. Area: (blank) ML: (blank, but ...) Notes: Retired Colonel (people tend to stay home after retirement, unless armed gunmen, for example, disrupt these plans)
 * Dec 6: Qusay Hamed Al Mustafa #4,961. Lieutenant Colonel. From: Homs: Masaken Mesfah. Age 45. Married and has 2 children. ML: Homs.
 * Dec 6: Muhammad Ali al-Shamali #4,989. Policeman. From Homs: al-Dardaar. Age 34. ML: al-Meidan Street. Notes: Personnel of Traffic Police Branch, Homs.
 * Dec 7: Wesam Issa al-Ali #50,738. Sergeant. From Homs: Talkalakh. Age 28. Married and has child. ML: Homs : Kafrzita.
 * Dec 8: Eysa Farag al-Ali #52,332. Corporal. From Homs: Arman Sharqe. Age 23. ML: Homs.
 * Dec 8: Yarub Saed Hasan	#48,580. Lieutenant Colonel. From: Lattakia: Qerdaha (the al-Assad family's hometown). Age 25. ML: Homs.
 * Dec 9: Sarei Abdulla Eleas (Elias/Eleas is often a Christian name in Homs) #51,795. Corporal. From Homs: Um Sharshuh. Age 30. ML: Homs.
 * Dec 10: Suleiman Mahmood Mehrez. #5,064. Rank: Colonel. Province: Homs. Area: Wa'er. Age: 57. Date of death: 2011-12-10. Martyrdom location: Jawret Al Shyah (Homs district) Cause of Death: Kidnapping - Execution. Notes: Retired Colonel, Kidnapped then found dead with a bullet in the head.
 * Dec 10: Mahmoud Alaa al-Din al-Daghestani #69,223. Warrant officer First Class. From: Homs, Zahraa. (Al-Zahraa is an Alawite-majority district) ML: Homs.
 * Dec 10: Maher Ahmad Issa #5094. Captain. From Tartous: Safayta: Beldet Noshayr. Occupation: Ingeneer. ML: Homs.
 * Dec 10: Ayman Mohammad al-Issa # 65,088. Sergeant. From Homs: Abbaseih neighborhood. Age 46, married.