LATEST: Video — Regime Officer Walks Over to Insurgents “We Are Brothers”
VIDEO: Khalid Ibn al-Walid Mosque in Khalidiya area of Homs after regime occupation and amid continued fighting
After several weeks of pressure but little obvious progress, regime forces claimed a significant breakthrough on Saturday in their attempt to re-claim all of Homs: State media proclaimed that the Syrian military had occupied the Khalid Ibn al-Walid Mosque in the Khalidiya neighbourhood.
The 12th-century mosque had become a symbolic casualty of the regime offensive, suffering extensive damage both to its exterior and interior, including the tomb.
On Saturday State news agency SANA, citing “an unnamed military official”, said Syrian troops were now in control — having cleared out the mosque of the “terrorists” who were using it as a base. An image circulated of a reporter for Al-Manar TV, linked to the Lebanese organisation and Syrian ally Hezbollah, broadcasting from inside the mosque.
This morning, however, there is a twist. No further news has emerged of the supposed capture, and SANA —with its claim of the “remarkable headway” made by regime forces — is unavailable.
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State Media Claims Iran Providing Medical Assistance
Syrian State media outlet SANA tweeted on Sunday that Iran is providing medical equipment to the Syrian government. The claim is interesting in the light of Tehran’s complaints that continuing Western sanctions have resulted in a shortage in drugs and medical equipment at home.
#Syria's Ministry of Health received equipment to carry out 5,000 dialysis sessions, presented as a gift from #Iran
— SANA English (@SANA_English) July 28, 2013
Video: Women, Children Demonstrate In Homs In Support Of Insurgents
Footage posted on Sunday shows a group of women — and several young children — demonstrating in the northwestern Al-Waer district of Homs, in support of the insurgents.
The Al-Waer district has been under heavy shelling on Sunday. This video shows cars in the neighborhood burning after being hit:
Insurgents and activists are emphasizing that morale and determination is high among the insurgency. This video, from Sunday, is claimed footage of an interview with an insurgent sniper inside Homs, who talks to a citizen journalist while actively scanning for regime forces:
Meanwhile, in Homs Old City, houses burn after a hit from a regime surface-to-surface missile:
Video: Regime Officer Walks Over to Insurgents “We Are All Brothers”
A moment of reconciliation? Amid a shouted discussion between the Syrian military and insurgents, in Eastern Ghouta near Damascus, a regime officer drops his rifle and walks over to the opposition fighters, saying, “We are all Syrians. We are all brothers”:
Opposition Coalition Condemns Killing in Khan al-Assal
The opposition Syrian National Coalition has condemned the abuse and killing of regime forces by insurgents after their takeover of the village of Khan al-Assal, near Aleppo, on Monday.
“Videos show what appears to be the collective execution of a number of soldiers,” the statement said. “The Coalition condemns this act, and announces the creation of a commission of inquiry, stressing the need to take proceedings against those whose implication in the crime is proven.”
The Coalition claimed that the first indications showed “the implication of armed groups not affiliated to the general command of the Free Syrian Army”.
The 9th Division of the FSA had claimed responsibility for taking Khan al-Assal in a video statement distributed on Monday.
The Ansar al-Khalifa subsequently distributed footage of their presence in the village, including piles of corpses of regime fighters and the abuse of captives.
“The Coalition and the FSA general command condemn any violation of the Geneva Convention, no matter who is behind it,” the opposition statement said.
Fierce Battle Goes On For Khalid Bin al-Walid Mosque In Homs
Following State media reports on Saturday claiming that regime forces had managed to capture the historic Khalid Bin al-Walid Mosque in Homs, an EA correspondent says the battle for control of the important Islamic landmark is ongoing.
According to the correspondent, regime forces managed to storm the mosque on Saturday, and shoot short videos of it, before the FSA retook it. FSA snipers shot around two dozen regime soldiers as they withdrew. For the next few hours, the area around the mosque saw extremely heavy clashes, until regime forces were able to storm it again. Although the mosque is in regime hands, the FSA are battling to retake it, though supplies remain an issue.
Because of the emotional significance of the mosque, the FSA remain highly motivated to retake it. FSA snipers remain in position in the area around the mosque, pressurizing the regime soldiers who are trying to maintain control.
The thirteenth century mosque has become an important symbol for the fight between the insurgency and regime in Homs, with insurgents and the Syrian National Coalition condemning Assad’s forces for shelling the historic building. Several activist videos show extensive damage to the mosque’s interior and exterior.
This State media news video from Saturday shows the interior of the mosque has suffered even greater damage over the past days. Part of the mosque’s dome seems to have collapsed through the roof into the main hall of the mosque (see 0:30).
The video also shows the fierce clashes between insurgents and regime forces, with regime forces under heavy fire as they run into and around the mosque.
This video, posted on Saturday night by activists in Homs, shows a mass protest in the city against the regime:
Video: In Khan Al-Assal, FSA Hand Over 300 Bodies Of Assad Soldiers To Red Crescent
Footage posted by activists on Saturday shows another side to the unfolding story of the insurgent capture of Khan al-Assal. In the video, Free Syrian Army fighters hand over bodies — the number is given as 300 — of regime soldiers killed in the battle to Red Crescent paramedics.
State Media Presses Claim of “Massacre” by Insurgents in Khan al-Assal
Syrian State media, which had refused to admit the loss of the strategic village of Khan al-Assal near Aleppo, has now changed its line — it is pressing the claim that opposition fighters massacred 123 people, many of them civilians.
State news agency SANA cites a “media source” to declare “a genocide” by the Ansar al-Khilafa Brigade.
SANA claims condemnation of the mass killing by the Syria-based “Syrian Human Rights Network”, the Lawyers Syndicate, Popular Front for Change and Liberation, the National Initiative for Syrian Kurds, the National Union of Syrian Students, and the Arab Democratic Solidarity Party.
Minister of Information Omran al-Zoubi declared on State TV on Saturday that the “terrorists” who committed the mass killing and the “countries which support, fund and arm them” will be held accountable and “will pay dearly”.
See Syria Videos: Insurgents Kill & Abuse Captured Regime Fighters in Khan al-Assal
Casualties
The Local Coordination Committees claim 109 people were killed on Saturday, including 49 in Aleppo Province and 24 in Damascus and its suburbs.
The Violations Documentation Center puts the number of dead at 67,613 since the start of the conflict, a rise of 89 since Saturday. Of these, 51,381 are civilians, an increase of 64 from yesterday.
