Mass grave found in rebel Syrian town as troops retake control following overnight fighting

By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated: 12:32 EST, 12 June 2011


  • More than 4,000 flee to Turkey from Jisr al-Shughour

A mass grave has been uncovered in the Syrian town at the centre of the rebel backlash against President Bashar al-Assad.

Ten bodies were found in front of the military police building in the town of Jisr al-Shughour.

All the bodies were dressed in uniform, with reports saying that at least four of them had been beheaded.

Moving in: An image from Syrian television allegedly shows troops entering the town of Jisr al-Shaghur which is now back in army control

Moving in: An image from Syrian television allegedly shows troops entering the town of Jisr al-Shaghur which is now back in army control

Evidence: A Syrian boy shows bullets in Istabraq village near the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour, after loyalist troops move in to quell unrest

Evidence: A Syrian boy shows bullets in Istabraq village near the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour, after loyalist troops move in to quell unrest

The discovery of the grave came after Syrian forces retook control of the north western town following heavy overnight

Syria's state news agency said army units entered the town after dismantling explosives planted on roads and bridges.

The report said there were heavy clashes as troops moved in.

The attack, led by President Bashar al-Assad's brother Maher, sent more people fleeing towards the Turkish border to join over 4,000 who have already crossed.

Witnesses reported gunfire and houses on fire as troops moved in after a 24-hour bombardment.

One resident said: 'Tanks came from the south after shelling randomly and sending volleys of machine-gun fire all over the town.'

Mobile phone images of dead victims were shown by Bassam, a tile layer, who fled to Turkey as troops closed in on his hometown.

We want peace: A group of children flash V-signs at the Boynuyogun Turkish Red Crescent camp

We want peace: A group of children flash V-signs at the Boynuyogun Turkish Red Crescent camp

Tented city: Turkish Red Crescent workers install power lines into an almost completed new refugee tent camp in Boynuyogun, Turkey, near the Syrian border

Tented city: Turkish Red Crescent workers install power lines into an almost completed new refugee camp in Boynuyogun, Turkey, near the Syrian border

Sorrow: Syrian refugees attend a funeral of an anti-regime protester on the Syria-Turkey border, near the Turkish village of Guvecci, in Hatay

Sorrow: Syrian refugees attend a funeral of an anti-regime protester on the border, near the Turkish village of Guvecci, in Hatay

One man, aged between 18 and 25 years old, is pictured with a bullet wound in his leg and a large exit wound in his stomach. He lay on a bloodied cloth.

Another showed a young man who had been shot in the head. Bassam said the two were killed just outside Jisr al-Shughour by Maher's troops.

He added: 'There are only a few people left. I escaped on my motorcycle through dirt tracks in the hills.'

Other refugees said the troops killed or burned cows and sheep and destroyed agricultural land around the village of Sarmaniya to the south of Jisr al-Shughour.

Troops were said to have burned wheat crops in three nearby villages to try to crush the will of people who have been participating in large protests against Assad's autocratic rule.

Happy: Syrian refugees flash victory signs at a camp set up by Turkish authorities in the border town of Yayladagi where authorities have set up four field hospitals

Happy: Syrian refugees flash victory signs at a camp set up by Turkish authorities in the border town of Yayladagi where authorities have set up four field hospitals

Loyal: Syrian Government troops and armored vehicles arrive in Istabraq village in a border region with a history of hostility toward President al- Assad's autocratic regime

Loyal: Syrian Government troops and armored vehicles arrive in Istabraq village in a border region with a history of hostility toward President al- Assad's regime

The strategic town, among hills on the road between Syria's second city Aleppo and the country's main port of Latakia, had seen large demonstrations.

Residents said they feared revenge for violence in the town in which Syria claimed120 troops were killed.

But refugees and rights campaigners said they died after soldiers mutinied following the killings of civilians.

More than 4,000 Syrians have so far crossed over to Turkey and up to 10,000 have taken shelter among trees near the border since Assad's crackdown began.

Thirty-six protesters were reportedly shot dead across the country on Friday with Syrian authorities deploying helicopter gunships in the town of Maarat al-Numaan.

Map of the Syrian region where refugees are fleeing and troops are cracking down

Syria has prevented most foreign journalists, including those from the BBC, from entering the country, making it difficult to independently verify reports from there.

As Turkey voted in parliamentary elections today, the country fears it may be swamped by 100,000 refugees fleeing the violence.

The country is considering setting up a buffer zone to house them.

But Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said: 'We can't close the doors to those people who run away for their lives and flee to Turkey. We have to welcome them.'

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