ANTAKYA, Turkey: While Syrian government helicopters and tanks are pounding the western town of Haffeh and the surrounding villages, ground troops are rounding up young men and looting houses, according to Syrian rebels who have fled to Turkey.
Recovering at a hospital in the Turkish city of Antakya, a wounded Free Syrian Army fighter described the assault on Haffeh by government forces and how he was shot trying to rescue the wounded.
“First, helicopters attack the villages, later the tanks attack, and then at the end soldiers enter the houses, loot them and set fire to them,” said Mohammad, a 25-year-old fighter who had been shot through the shoulder.
At least 50 wounded have been smuggled across the border to Turkey from Haffeh over the past few days but many more are trapped by fierce fighting and those that try to escape are fired on by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, according to rebels in the southern Turkish province of Hatay.
The United States this week warned of a “potential massacre” in Haffeh after two reported mass killings in neighbouring provinces in the past three weeks.
Corroborating accounts of what is happening inside Syria is difficult because the government tightly restricts foreign media access.
UN observers who arrived at the town on Tuesday to investigate said it was too dangerous to enter.
Mohammad, who like all the rebels interviewed gave only one name for fear that Assad’s forces would retaliate against his relatives in Syria, recounted the moment he was hit.
“We were trying to bring out the wounded but I got shot in the front and the bullet exited through the back,” said Mohammad, pointing to his heavily bandaged left shoulder.
Sporting a thick black beard characteristic of many of the rebels and dressed only in blue tracksuit trousers, Mohammad said Assad’s troops were humiliating Sunni Muslim families during searches.
“The troops are arresting the men and pulling the headscarves off our women’s heads. They know this is insulting to our women,” he said. “Assad wants to weaken the resolve of the Sunni communities.”
Assad and most of his ruling elite and top commanders belong to the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam.
In the bed next to him, another wounded man grimaces as he tries to turn over. He motions to say he is too tired to talk.
Their rescuers describe how they smuggled the men through the hills on Sunday and across the Turkish border, some 25 km from Haffeh. They said many more had been left behind.
Syrian troops have laid mines along the border with Hatay over the past few months to stop rebels from entering and civilians from escaping. (Reuters)
Over the past week, they have also been burning wooded areas at key crossing points to flush out militants and make it easier to spot the steady flow of wounded rebels, civilians and refugees who have been crossing into Turkey since the uprising in Syria began some 15 months ago. (Reuters)