…from Southfront
[ Update: The Turks are saying the bomber was a YPG guy which fits their game, but we have asked Southfront to look into it for their comments. People change skins in the Mideast like rich women do their clothes…JD ]
[ Editor’s Note: This is the first major uprising I have seen in a while against the occupying Turkish forces. The videos are chaotic, and that’s what you get from people on the scene, but they do give a flavor of the rage of the crowd.
This is the last place in the world you would want the crowd to help you when wounded. If you aren’t dead yet, you will be by the time they get done lugging your injured body around like that of a corpse on fire. There seems to be zero training on how to take even the most minor cautions to not hurt bombing victims even more.
The first video shows the crowd of a thousand breaking into the official Turkish compound with just one thin line of cops opposing them, and then it cuts off so you don’t know what happened.
The other videos have the sound of a lot of gunfire; I assume it was to back the mob off, but we can’t see that. This definitely ups the ante on the Turks. But I am not with the mob here. It’s always better to have a trial and then the execution.
There is no word on how the bomber was caught. One of Southfront’s weaknesses is it does not have people on the ground, no direct sources, so it is limited to the news wires for material. And then there are the language issues… Jim W. Dean ]
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– First published … November 17, 2019 –
The ongoing protests against the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Military Police in northern Aleppo have escalated, with initial reports of causalities.
A former ISIS terrorist who fought for a Turkish-backed group was behind the recent al-Bab bombing which claimed the lives of many civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on November 17, citing sources affiliated with the situation.
The sources told the UK-based monitoring group that the terrorist was originally from the town of Jablat Al-Hamrah, which is located near al-Bab in the Turkish-occupied part of northern Aleppo.
Syrian activists confirmed the information revealed by the SOHR and identified the terrorist as 30-year old Ali al-Yousef.
“He is a former ISIS operative, he fought with the group in the battles of Manbij and al-Bab,” one of the sources said, “After the Turks managed to capture al-Bab, he joined the [Turkish-backed] Hamza Division of the Syria National Army (SNA). Then, he also left the division.”
Some of the activists even claimed that al-Yousef was very close to the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Military Police and even the Turkish intelligence.
The protests erupted in the morning of November 17 when thousands of locals marched towards the headquarters of the police in the Turkish-occupied city of al-Bab demanding the execution of a man allegedly involved in the recent bombing.
The suspect, Ali al-Yousef, 30, is reportedly a former ISIS operative who joined the Turkish-backed Hamza Division a few years ago. Rumors claiming that the police will depart al-Yousef to Turkey angered the locals, especially that the man was close to police and intelligence figures.
Nineteen people were killed and dozens others were injured in the recent bombing in al-Bab. The vast majority of the casualties were civilians.
The local police and Turkish forces responded to the protestors, who stormed the main police headquarters, with tear gas and later live fire.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), at least one protestor was killed and another was injured as a result. Local sources identified the victim as Sa’id Mahmod Sukar.
The reports of causalities led to more tension, with more civilians taking to the streets in al-Bab city to protest against Turkish forces.
The ongoing protests in al-Bab appear to be taken a political shift, with some protestors demanding the departure of Turkish troops. The situation could escalate further in the upcoming few days.
Jim W. Dean is VT Editor Emeritus. He was an active editor on VT from 2010-2022. He was involved in operations, development, and writing, plus an active schedule of TV and radio interviews. He now writes and posts periodically for VT.
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