Homs people face brutality of Assad Snipers

Faris Al Rifai; Translation by Yusra Ahmed

HOMS (Zaman Al Wasl)- Snipers on the roofs of the National Hospital in Homs have become nightmares for all people live in al-Waer, as they do not discriminate a children from elderly, every moving body is a target.

Eyewitnesses shockingly reported an extremely sad story of a young man who rescued an elderly wounded by a sniper’s bullet, but sadly, he became a victim, when he was shot by a sniper when he tried to bring back the elderly man’s umbrella and mobile.

The number of deaths by those snipers, forced the “civil committee” of al-Waer neighborhood to discuss the snipers’ crisis in their meeting with Major General Deeb Zaitoon to reach to an agreement about the neighborhood.

“There are many snipers on the roof of the National Hospital, besides it covers wide area allowing the snipers to watch the whole areas in four directions, and make it difficult for rebels to target them”, Hasan Abo Zein, a resident said.

He added that snipers are most likely to be a mix of regime’s forces and from the National Defence forces “NDF”. “Alwaer’s rebels dealt with those snipers many times, but because the building has different levels and snipers just hit and run, it is difficult for them to get rid of them” detailed.

In regard to targeting civilian’s houses, Hasan Abo Zein confirmed that the NDF’s militias situated on the roof of the National Hospital, bombed houses with heavy arms many times causing destruction and fires in many of them, despite the area is heavily populated.

Activist Zein confirmed that snipers killed people more than rockets and shelling. “Sniping is a humanitarian crisis by all means if continues, it needs sorting out as soon as possible”

Activist Nader Tayarah, explained that roof of the National Hospital had become a square for heavy and medium arms, and the NDF’s militias had controlled it after the regime’s forces withdrawal.

Tayarah criticized some rebels’ battalions for not giving the snipers’ crisis the seriousness it needed.

Besides the National hospital, many building in Homs became stations for snipers, like the Gardinia Tower, which is described as “the tower of death” by Homsi people, and the City Center building.