‘Savagery’ in Syria not unique to Arabs – buy it, agitate it and the world will surely witness it…

Horrific videos show rebel brutality in Syria
13 August, 2012 – Al Akhbar

Horrific videos purportedly showing Syrian rebels throwing the bodies of postal workers off a roof and a man’s throat being savagely cut triggered outrage among rights activists on Monday.

Three videos all showing the apparent atrocities in the province of Aleppo, including a bound man being repeatedly shot, were posted on YouTube on Monday but their authenticity could not immediately be verified.

Both sides in the 17-month conflict have been accused of human rights violations as reports of cold-blooded killings mount.

“What is the difference between them and a wild animal in the jungle? At least a wild animal does not kill unless it is hungry,” said Massoud Akko, a Kurdish activist and co-founder of the Association of Syrian Journalists.

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdelrahman, not his real name, said he strongly condemned such atrocities, whoever was behind them, if the videos were confirmed.

Graphic footage showed a crowd of people shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) as they gathered around several bodies on the ground before another three victims were seen being hurled from the top of the building.

The incident was said to have taken place in rebel-controlled al-Bab near the northern metropolis of Aleppo and the victims were identified as postal workers, but it was not clear when it occurred.

“These are the heroes of Bab city who are inside the post office,” the man shooting the video said.

When the body of one man was thrown to the ground, the crowd is heard shouting: “This is a shabiha,” referring to the pro-government militia.

The video could not be independently verified.

In another shocking amateur video, a blindfolded man, with his hands tied behind his back, struggled as a group of men forced him to lie down on a pavement in Aleppo.

The man calls out: “I would rather die by a bullet.” A man retorts: “Shut up.”

As the group chanted “Allahu Akbar,” the assailant forced what appeared to be a small knife repeatedly across his throat as his blood spurted onto the pavement.

“This is the fate of all the shabiha and those who support Bashar (al-Assad),” said the man filming the video.

And a third clip, purportedly shot in Aazaz, also in Aleppo province, showed a bearded man being hauled out of a car boot with his hands tied behind his back and pushed to the ground.

One man opens fire on him with a small pistol, only to be joined by another with a rifle. They shoot many times at the man, who dies face down in a field.

“If these videos are confirmed, such atrocities harm the revolution. They only benefit the regime and the enemies of the revolution,” Abdelrahman told AFP.

Online activists also condemned the killings, which highlight the escalating brutality of a conflict that started out as a peaceful uprising but which has deteriorated into a brutal civil war.

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