Siege of Rastan and Talbiseh

The Siege of Rastan and Talbiseh was an operation by the Syrian Army during the Syrian uprising. On 28 May 2011, after protests and armed revolt, the Syrian Army launched an operation in al-Rastan, a city of an estimated 50,000 residents 20 kilometers north of Homs, and the neighboring town of Talbiseh, which resulted in the suppression of the protests and numerous deaths. The Syrian Army met some armed opposition during the operation.[4]

Siege of Rastan and Talbiseh
Part of the Civil uprising phase of the Syrian civil war
Location
Rastan and Talbiseh, Syria
Planned byGen. Maher al-Assad
Gen. Yousef Ismail
Gen. Ali Hamdan[1]
TargetOpposition protestors
Date28 May – 4 June 2011
Executed by Syrian Army
  • 4th Division (42nd brigade)
  • 8th Division (60th, 120th, 134th, 167th brigades)[1]
OutcomeProtests suppressed
Casualties74 civilians killed[2]
6 soldiers killed[3]

Background

In mid-April, large protests began in Rastan and the neighboring town of Talbiseh.[5] On 29 April, some 50 members of the ruling Ba'ath Party resigned in Rastan. Soon after, while notice of the resignations was being read out at a large protest, the Military Intelligence allegedly shot and killed 17 demonstrators.[6] A week later, about 100 tanks and troop transporters converged on and encircled the town of Rastan, after anti-government protesters toppled a statue of the late Syrian president Hafez al-Assad and pledged to press ahead with their protests despite sweeping arrests by Bashar al-Assad's government.[7] Throughout May, protests continued in Rastan and the neighboring areas.[8][9]

The operation

On Saturday 28 May, the Syrian military entered the towns of Rastan and Talbiseh, a day after their biggest demonstrations so far. The opposition reported shooting in Talbiseh and said that soldiers were breaking into homes and arresting people. The operation started after the security forces cut-off all water supplies, electricity and telecommunications in the area and blocked all roads leading to the two towns. On Sunday, a mortar shell hit a school bus carrying children in Talbiseh, residents told Al Jazeera. An ambulance trying to rescue them was also targeted, but the wounded students were eventually allowed to be transported to the nearest hospital in Deir Balba, they said.[10]

On 30 May, it was reported that residents of Rastan and Talbiseh had fired at the army with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. A resident of Homs said "The army is facing armed resistance and is not able to enter the two towns ... The army is still outside the towns and I was told that army vehicles, including armored personnel carriers, were set on fire". Another opposition activist confirmed residents had fought back, but said it involved lone residents protecting themselves rather than an organized armed resistance with an overall command structure. The opposition Local Co-ordination Committees said that the army hit Talbiseh with artillery early on Monday 28 May and that snipers were deployed on the roofs of mosques.[11][12] Opposition activists reported that at least two people were killed by Syrian Army artillery and machine-gun fire in Rastan on 4 June.[13]

Aftermath
Main article: Battle of Rastan, 2011

In late September, there were reports of more army defections in Rastan, and the Free Syrian Army claimed to have destroyed 17 armored vehicles during clashes in Rastan,[14] using RPGs and booby traps.[15] On 1 October, the Syrian Army took control of Rastan, killing 130 civilians and opposition forces according to activist sources and arresting 3,000 suspected opposition members.[16]

References
  1. ""By All Means Necessary!" - Human Rights Watch". Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  2. "Army shells town as Syrians protest; 2 killed". USATODAY.COM. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  3. 4 killed (30 May), 2 killed (1 June), total of 6 reported killed Archived June 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ""We Live as in War" - Human Rights Watch". Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  5. "Syria protests: Homs city sit-in 'dispersed by gunfire'". BBC News. 19 April 2011.
  6. "Syrian tanks deploy in town; hundreds detained". Reuters. 4 May 2011.
  7. "Tensions rise in Syria as ruling forces mass tanks in protest hotbed". The Australian. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  8. "Syrian forces kill 6 protesters". Reuters. 13 May 2011.
  9. "Tanks shell Syrian town, West piles on pressure". Reuters. 18 May 2011.
  10. "Syrian tanks attack three central towns". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  11. Armed residents put up resistance to Syrian army
  12. "Syrian protesters return fire on Assad's troops". Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  13. "Syrian army shells town, protesters gear for rally". Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  14. "Syrian defectors battle Assad's army". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  15. "Thousands of troops desert from Syrian army". Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  16. "Pro-Assad forces regain rebel Syrian town: agency". Reuters. 1 October 2011.

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