More details about Latakia snipers in leaked document

(Translation by Dani Murad)

Sniping has been a major war tool in the Syrian war since the very beginning, with professional regime snipers from Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah, terrorizing rebel forces and civilians alike.

In this context, Zaman Alwasl has obtained two documents containing the names of a large number of regime snipers in the city of Lattakia and its suburbs, in which some of them have been sent on a “sniping” mission to Aleppo.

These snipers are affiliated with the “National defense”, an alternative army to defend the regime in the semi-peaceful areas, predominantly inhabited by pro-government supporters and members of Assad’s Alawite sect, such as the coastal cities.

The documents which are issued on 18/6/2013, mentioned in details the snipers’ full names, with information about them and the type of weapons they use.

And another document lists the names of snipers who are originally from Latakia’s suburbs, with their full names, mothers’ name, phone numbers, rifle’s type and number; in addition to the scopes since most of these rifles have scopes.

Since the beginning of the revolution, Assad’s forces have been mainly using sniping as a war weapon to suppress demonstrators, in addition to being one of regime’s main tactical moves when Assad’s forces enter a rebel-held area, operating from high buildings and concrete blocks to target any moving body in opposition areas.

According to activists, a lot of Syrians have lost their lives because of snipers’ betrayer bullets, especially during peaceful demonstrations, and in the beginning of the revolution, Syrians would not have believed that someone might target them in the head and neck, with a bullet that they had paid for.

Regime’s snipers haven’t spared the lives of either women or children and even animals had their own share of terror and brutality, and who can forget the chilling X-ray image that showed a bullet lodged in a baby's head. The image was heartbreaking enough without knowing that the child was still in its mother's womb when it became the target of snipers hiding in the shadows in northern Syria.