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Sunday, June 16, 2013

Why have there been so many Syrian Army defections?

Bashar al-Assad and all the spokespeople for his regime insist that they are fighting "armed terrorist gangs." Even presumed independents like Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire, repeat the regimes outlook:
These foreign fighters were from many countries like Libyans, Saudis, Tunisians, Chechens, Afghanis, Pakistanis, Emiratis, Lebanese, Jordanians, Turkish, Europeans, Australian, and these gangs are financed and trained by foreign governments.
These foreign fighters are a small minority of Assad's opposition. The truth is the the majority of those who are fighting him, and now make up the rank and file, as well as the leadership, of the Free Syrian Army, are Syrians who once fought for him and made the moral and courageous decision to change sides.

This is an inconvenient fact for Assad and his supporters, but these defectors cannot be ignored. Anyone seeking to understand the true dynamics of the Syrian Revolution must come to terms with these soldiers and understand why they left Assad and joined the Revolution.

What follows is a small sampling of the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of defection videos and reports to be found on the Internet.


Reuters reported:
Syria force surrounds town after defections: residents
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis
AMMAN | Mon Aug 29, 2011 4:35pm EDT
(Reuters) - An armored Syrian force surrounded a town near the city of Homs Monday and fired heavy machineguns after the defection of tens of soldiers in the area, activists and residents said.

One woman, 45 year-old Amal Qoraman, was killed and five other people were injured, they said, adding that tens of people were arrested in house to house raids in the town of 40,0000.

Since the demise of Muammar Gaddafi's rule in Libya, activists and residents have reported increasing defections among Syrian troops, as well as more intense street protests in a five-month-old uprising against President Bashar al Assad.

Syrian authorities have repeatedly denied army defections have been taking place. They have expelled independent media since the uprising began in March.

Activists say there have been desertions in eastern Deir al-Zor province, northwestern Idlib province, the Homs countryside and the outskirts of Damascus, where security forces fought gunbattles with defectors Sunday.

At least 40 light tanks and armored vehicles, and 20 buses of troops and military intelligence members deployed at dawn at the entrance of Rastan, 20 km (12 miles) north of Homs and began firing heavy machineguns at the town, two residents said.

"The tanks deployed at both banks of the highway, which remained open, and fired long bursts from their machineguns at Rastan," one of the residents, who gave his name as Raed, told Reuters by phone.

He said defections began in the town when it was stormed by tanks three months ago to crush large street protests against Assad in an assault that killed dozens of civilians.

Security forces killed Monday a former officer who had played a key role in coordinating army defections, activists said.

Mostapha Selim Hezbollah, a former air force officer in his 40s', was shot dead when his car was ambushed near the town of Kfar Nubul in Idlib province, which borders Turkey, they said. More...

Adjutant Ali Ahmad & other soldiers defect & form Homs battalion FSA | 03 Dec 2011


Massive soldiers defection joined the FSA to fight against Al-Assad in Syria | 15 Dec 2011


(01-23-2012) Major Muhammad Ali Ayoob defects and joins Free Syria Army - FSA


(02-01-2012) Homs | More defections join Free Syria Army - FSA


(02-02-2012) Aleppo | Group of soldiers defects to join Free Syria Army - FSA


(02-05-2012) Group of police officers defects to join Free Syria Army - FSA


(02-06-2012) Group of soldiers defects to join Free Syria Army - FSA


Colonel Bassam al-Shikh Ali defects and joins Free Syria Army | 16 Feb 2012


Defection of Brigadier General Fayiz Omar - FSA | 16 Feb 2012


Syrian Army officer deflected and joined Free Syrian Army (FSA) | 16 Feb 2012
Syrian Army officer Lt. Adnan Al-Somair deflect from the Syrian regular army and joined the new Free Syrian Army, supporting Syrian uprising protesters.

What´s left of Homs, Syria | 17 Feb 2012


Idlib | Colonel Abdul Jabbar Mohammad Akeedi defects & joins FSA | 19 Mar 2012


General Defects from Assad's Army to Free Syrian Army | 28 Mar. 2012
Footage depicting a man claiming to be Brigadier General Ziad Isma'il Fahd announcing his defection from the Syrian Army, and joining the Free Syrian Army. He states that the regime's collapse "is coming inevitably" and that "there is no going back." It was uploaded by Syrian activists on March 28, 2012.

(05.01.2012) Colonel Abdullah Ali Al-Khtebi defects and joins Free Syrian Army


Syria humiliated by Pilot Defecting to Jordan | 22 Jun 2012


Albawaba News reported:
Syria army hit by new defections as civilians trapped in Homs
Published June 25th, 2012 - 12:47 GMT
A general, two colonels, several officers and 33 soldiers have deserted the Syrian army and arrived in Turkey, CNN-Turk said. These defections are an addition to the 13 Syrian generals who defected the army and reached Turkish soil, reported the Anatolia news agency.

The general, whose the agency failed to identify, entered into the the Turkish province of Hatay together with the soldiers and their families, i.e. a total group of 196 people, including many women and children, according to Anatolia. More...

(7-14-12) Rastan | Homs | Large Military Defections From Army



Click here for a list of my other blogs on Syria

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