A video, apparently showing the corpses of Syrian regime soldiers being thrown off the roof of a building near Aleppo, has appeared on YouTube. The clip appears to show rebel soldiers hurling the dead bodies while a crowd gathers round on ground level, chanting that heroes have liberated the town.
It’s the latest example of the kind of brutality that rebel soldiers are beginning to show, following months of massacres reportedly carried out by troops loyal to president Assad. Critics say the FSA are losing credibility by committing such acts while others wonder how, in the face of such violence, the rebel army has shown restraint for so long.
Rebel soldiers’ behavior came into the limelight earlier this month after videos emerged online showing summary executions of prisoners. First person accounts from reporters confirmed that the FSA had captured regime troops and later killed them in cold blood. Human Rights Watch called their actions a ‘war crime’
The most recent clip, which was uploaded on Saturday, is believed to be set in the town of Al Bab, just north of Aleppo where the FSA have come under heavy fire from Assad’s forces.
The fight for the Northern city has been called “The Mother of All Battles” and with good reason. Nearly 300 casualties have so far been reported and one brigadier general defected to the FSA forces inside the city.
According to the Guardian newspaper, defected General Adelnasser Ferzat made an address in fluent Russian urging the Russian government to stop supporting Assad’s forces and let the rebel fighters win. But the violence shows no sign of abating so far.
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