The Syrian war

Hundreds Reported Slain in Attack on Syrian Alawite Village

Locals Blame Rebels, While Rebels Insist Other Alawites 

Did It

Anti-War,

12 December, 2012

A massive death toll has been reported over the past two days in attacks on the Alawite village of Aqrab, with some opposition groups saying that as many as 300 may have been killed.

Tolls vary, but most seem in the realm of 150-200, with some higher. The question then is who is responsible for the attacks, and while locals initially pinned the attack on rebels from the nearby town of Houla, the rebels are denying responsibility.

In some narratives, the Syrian government inexplicably attacked the village themselves, bizarre since President Assad is Alawite and the Alawites overwhelmingly support the regime. Other reports claimed a Houla attack led to massive air strikes that killed everybody on both sides.

The most improbable of the claims, coming from foreign pro-rebel activists, is that some random pro-regime militia made up of “other Alawites” deliberately massacred a village full of Alawites for no apparent reason.

As Syria War Escalates,

Regime Turns to Scuds and

Barrel Bombs

Ballistic Missiles Being Used to Supplement Airstrikes

Anti-War,

12 December, 2012

With the Syrian government seemingly eager to spread the rebels thinner and thinner by ceding remote areas that were only sparsely defended, they have remained determined to keep hitting those areas after they change hands.

Usually this means air strikes, but with a lot of territory to cover and a lot of rebel targets to hit, the Syrian military has reportedly fired at least six Scud missiles against different targets.

The US is warning that this is a significant new escalation, and also cites the use of barrel bombs, barrels filled with explosives and metal and dropped from attack helicopters as improvised bombs.

But while there is certainly escalation ongoing in the fighting, the shift to ballistic missiles may simply reflect how much bigger the battlefield is getting as the rebels move into the far east, and the regime may simply be pushing their air forces to the limit.