Death is not a particular oddity in the Middle East. Indeed, in any area of major conflict, death is an ever present guest at your home, simply waiting for the next suicide bomber decides to detonate and take whoever is in the vicinity with him. But what occurred in Haswiya, Syria was anything was nothing less then a true and honest massacre.
106 is the total number counted among the dead in Haswiya. Reports of the massacre had come in on Thursday but could not be verified right away. Among the dead were both woman and children, and it even appeared that a multitude of methods were used for the massacre (knives, guns, setting houses on fire, etc.). Rami Abdul Rahman, director of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights even calls for United Nation inspection of the incident.
What is interesting is the response from a government official in Damascus concerning the incident. Or, to put it more accurately, that there was no incident. Though upon arrival in Haswiya, BBC corespondents were treated to a visceral scene of pain and fear. Blood and charred bodies could still be found within the city, and countless bullet shells lined the floors of houses. Notably, all the victims were Sunni Muslims. Another interesting note is that both the army and select citizens of Haswiya claimed that a militant Islamist rebel group known at the al-Nusra Front were behind the massacre. But out of earshot of military soldiers, some citizens claim that the army was indeed there during the massacre.
So where does this leave Syrians? Wondering why it's own army couldn't protect a small village and why only Sunni Muslims were killed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21073447
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