Syrian Army Operations - Operations in tartous latakia - Part 4 - Syria

ANNA-News filming crew has visited Latakia province and the areas that have been attacked by radical islamist gangs. The villages have been freed after the Army units have intervened into the events. But the feeling of the tragedy which has happened on this ground is still present here clearly. Empty houses, abandoned fertile land, silent rocks, oak-tree and olive groves keep it. We knew that we're going to the places where a horrible tragedy has happened. But its scale has only become clear when we have met those who took part in it immediately and who witnessed the crimes of the modern fascists who decided that their belief gives them right to choose whom to live on this land and whom to die in tortures. We have met people who are ready to witness at any court the facts that will make even the most cynical proponents of so called "fight for freedom in Syria" shudder: the facts of crimes against humanity, massacres based on religion, genocide of a part of Syrian society. We will publish the stories of people who survived this slaughter-house, who have managed to escape the hell being unarmed and being caught in their own beds early in the morning in many cases. We've been returning to Damascus feeling the obligation to Latakia villagers that we have taken to tell about those days of year 2013 which have become the barrier separating the lives of these Syrians into "before" and "after" having radically changed their lives of the past and having crippled the conscience of people forever with no return by clashing them with wild savages, barbarians, human haters which will always be remembered by Syrian people. Tortures experienced by these people must not be repeated. Thus facts and crimes of the militants who spread the plague of the 21th century through the world must become the attainment of all the world's people must become known to all the people of good will who know nothing about the events going on in Syria, who are being knowingly and cynically deceived by their mass media and political leaders. We have been surprised when having arrived to Khrbet Soulas village. We've seen the villagers approaching us having not yet left the cars. They came out to meet us having spotted the arriving cars. "Hail the Army!" "We've been attacked by terrorists from all sides" "They have encircled the village, entered it and attacked the houses" "And all of us would be killed but for God and Army's help" "About 400 were living in the village" "Those who survived have left" "Our houses were ruined by bandits" "They were attacking from every direction" "Burned down the houses, looted" "The Army has entered with God's help, forced them away and protected us" "Hail the Army, hail President!" "We are thankful to all the soldiers and officers!" "We wouldn't be here but for them!" "Thanks God and thanks to the Army, our houses have survived" "We've planted and collected the harvest already" "Attacked at 8 in the morning, attacked the village four times and the Army has protected us" "There were many foreigners with large beards" "We've stayed in spite of them having burned down our houses and pillaged those, we've restored everything and are living on our own soil" "We need nothing else" "All of this thanks to the Army!" "Soldiers help us a lot" "They give us bread" These peaceful people came to meet us, their village has been attacked by militants four times. And if it were not the soldiers who stand before us no one would have survived probably. These are all of those who stay in the home village today since the militants don't stop trying to break through the frontline here. But the Army doesn't let them do that. "I would only like to wish that all of your compatriots, all of your co-villagers would return to this village as soon as possible and that peace would be upon your land!" Our way lies further to the frontline. Militants have attacked this place several times. We're at the line of contact with those. They have looted local TV aerial completely and burned it down when they've been able to capture it. "Mr. Officer! Tell us of the situation that is being developed at your frontline" "We're on Khrbet Soulas summit" "This is a place of strategic importance that the militants constantly try to capture" "This summit allows to control Salma and Rabiyah areas as well as Ghmam, Dammaiya, Deir Hannah, Jired-Alma villages" "These villages have been attacked and captured before" "Militants have forced the villagers to leave" "Militants constantly try to capture villages, burn the forest aiming to approach Latakia city and control it" "Syrian Army counters these attacks and observes militant forces and their movements" "This place is very importand as it controls all the militants' movement paths between Al-Rabiyah, Al-Sukkariya and Jired-Alma villages" "Where did militants attack this village from?" "Militants have several movement directions: first one from Jired-Alma village, second one from Al-Maet village behind the mountain, third one from Ghmam village towards Khrbet Soulas" "Sometimes they try to encircle us via reservoir" "But troops stationed [there] do not let them that" "How many civilians were killed?" "Many have been killed before Army came" "They've performed several massacres" "One of those in Qumbassiya village, another one in Zgaro" "They've retreated with large losses when Syrian Army attacked" "There were no murders anymore when Army came" "Now the Army protects this territory, controls militant movements and their supply paths lying via the border with Turkey" "This place is very near to the Syrian border with Turkey" "There are only 10 kilometers from Al-Rabiyah area to the Turkish border" "Are militant commanders foreigners or Syrians?" "Yes, there's a lot of foreigners among them: Chechens, citizens of Gulf countries, Egyptians, Tunisians, Libyans" "Foreigners make up the majority of the militants" "What is bandits' fighting spirit like?" "Their fighting spirit has largely sank after several failures of them and after performing strikes upon amassed militants" "And it's very high within Syrian Army and you can see the results!" "Look! They've been burning houses, villages, forests aiming to distract our attention from their movements" "They try to make a smoke screen so that we wouldn't see them, and hide behind the smoke which eases their movements" "How much losses do the militants take here?" "It depends. Sometimes 100 militants at a time when we find an amassment" "50 to 70 most often" On the road again, going to the next Syrian Army defense point. One of Syrian Army positions where its fighters protect the militant approach paths from Turkey to the nearby villages. They've taken a tough fight the day when Khrbet Soulas was attacked but didn't let the bandits through. "Mr. Colonel! How many fighters did you have and how could you stop a militant squad movement?" "The fight occured on April 29" "A huge number of militants started attacking Khrbet Soulas village from various directions" First direction was Deir Hannah, second one was Ghmam" "A group of soldiers have held defense here" "The fight went on for 6 hours" "A lot of militants have been eliminated" "They've managed to approach this point but were thrown away having lost many dead thanks to courage of our soldiers" "Militants thought they control this territory" "This was the beginning of the operation to capture Latakia city" "They had to capture Khrbet Soulas in the morning according to their plan, and Latakia in the evening" "This place is very important" "He who has control over it can control Latakia" "Thus they've tried to take it several times" "Each time they've taken huge losses" "I would like to thank [you] that having endured such a fight you saved the people of this village in fact" "There are mostly foreigners among militants" "Their goal is to capture as many women as they can" "We've heard it on radio as someone of them reported about capturing several women" "He was told to wait for sheikh who will distribute the women when he sees them" "They have no morals at all" "And we the soldiers and officers of Syrian Army will protect this territory" "We feel responsibility for the lives of these civilians" "If militants break through here that will be a catastrophe for villagers as it happened in other villages where militants have performed massacres" "They have *** women and captured a lot of people we still know nothing about [anymore]" "Thus our duty is to counter terrorism, hold till the end and destroy as many of them as possible" "We fight for all the world against international terrorism here" "They come here from all over the world" "The very same militants present problems even in Turkey where they've gave them home" "And threats to Turkish people have started appearing already" We've learned later that this very officer has held defenses with five soldiers here for 6 hours. The raid to the Army frontline is nearing its end but the journey over Latakia is not over. To be continued. Vasily Pavlov, Andrey Filatov, Igor Nadyrshin, Victor Kuznetsov, Marat Musin. ANNA-News. Latakia. Syria.