At The Mercy of Assad
"We were running out of ammunition and we were completely outnumbered. But we will return to fight again soon. Assad will see that he can defeat us, but he cannot conquer us." Free Syrian Army fighter.Is there really that much of a difference between being defeated and being conquered? Aside from splitting hairs in terminology and real meaning, they ran out of ammunition, while Qatar and Saudi Arabia spoke loudly and determinedly about supplying them with arms; a determination that never obviously came to fruition. Again, words being used loosely. It seems to be a habit in the Middle East.
The 4th Division of the Syrian Army appears to have bombarded Baba Amro within Homs, into insensibility. The Free Syrian Army militias have melted away. Again. But they'll be back, just as soon as Maher al-Assad has his troops complete the mopping-up operations, clears away the evidence, and marches out again to bombard another city of rebellion.
While in Homs, however, the opportunity to mop up advanced apace, with the search for any males over 14 and under 65, to be arrested and carted off to the regime's dungeons. There their guards can indulge themselves in all the torture sessions they deem required to protect the longevity of the al-Assad dynasty.
Baba Amro, without electricity, little food or medicines, was in dreadful shape, in any event. The foreign reporters have finally been spirited out of the battered enclave, and residents, women and children, are attempting to endure the unendurable, collecting snow as it falls, for a clean drinking water source. Finally, Russia and China are glaringly displeased with their disciple.
The United Nations Security Council passed a statement with unanimous support, calling upon Syria to permit the UN's humanitarian affairs chief entry to negotiate free access for aid agencies to respond to the desperate plight of civilians. Those who managed to flee Homs report soldiers going from house to house, arresting men.
And just incidentally trashing what is left of those homes, and looting anything seen to be of value.
Pillage and murder. "There has been a tactical withdrawal. The Free Army has left Baba Amro because of the brutal acts of the regime against civilians", according to the group's commander. The tactical withdrawal is required so that they may live to battle another day. The regime's brutality against civilians is a response to the Free Army's defiance of the regime's legitimacy.
The ill organized FSA recognizes no overall authority, there is no real cohesion, and no universal plan; everything is ad hoc.
Burham Ghalioun, leader of the Syrian National Council, has announced the formation of a military bureau to oversee and organize anti-Assad soldiers. But the Syrian National Council and the FSA are themselves not integrated, and work independently of one another.
And the authority of the Syrian National Council doesn't appear to be universally recognized by the rebels, to begin with. The SNC which once strenuously advocated for peaceful protest, has now put all that behind them in the face of the reality of the regime's determination to wipe out the opposition by any means at hand, and they are armed for that purpose.
There can be no negotiations with the ruling regime, only violent confrontation, and eventual collapse of either the nation or the regime as the struggle for equality between Sunni and Shia continues its bloodletting. Tribal and Sectarian differences traditionally have been settled in just such a manner, and having entered the modern era hasn't made much of an impact on tradition.
Labels: Conflict, Societal Failures, Syria
posted by Pieface @ Friday, March 02, 2012
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