Outrage at Syrian rebel shown 'eating soldier's heart'

A video which appears to show a Syrian rebel taking a bite from the heart of a dead soldier has brought strong condemnation.

US-based Human Rights Watch identified the rebel as Abu Sakkar, a well-known insurgent from the city of Homs, and said his actions were a war crime.

The main Syrian opposition coalition said he would be put on trial.

The video, which cannot be independently authenticated, seems to show him cutting out the heart.

"I swear to God we will eat your hearts and your livers, you soldiers of Bashar the dog," the man says referring to President Bashar al-Assad as he stands over the soldier's corpse.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says Abu Sakkar is the leader of a group called the Independent Omar al-Farouq Brigade.

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Who are the Independent Omar al-Farouq Brigade?

Group of rebel fighters, led by Abu Sakkar
Unit of the Islamist al-Farouq Brigades, founded in Homs in June 2011
Brigades made their name defending Baba Amr district of Homs during government assault in Feb 2012
Brigades operate under umbrella of the Free Syrian Army
Brigades are reported to comprise about 20,000 fighters
Abu Sakkar has appeared in videos firing rockets at Shia villages in Lebanon in April 2013 and posing with body of Hezbollah fighter
HRW said the attacks on the Shia villages appeared to be indiscriminate and a war crime
"The mutilation of the bodies of enemies is a war crime. But the even more serious issue is the very rapid descent into sectarian rhetoric and violence," HRW's Peter Bouckaert told Reuters news agency.

HRW said those committing war crimes on either side had to know that there was no impunity and that they would be brought to account.

The human rights group said Abu Sakkar had been filmed before, firing rockets into Shia areas of Lebanon and posing with the bodies of guerrillas from the Lebanese Hezbollah movement killed fighting alongside Syrian government forces.

The video, posted on Sunday, is one of the most gruesome to emerge among the many thrown up by more than two years of carnage in Syria, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut.

The UN says 70,000 people have been killed since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights puts the death toll at more than 80,000.

Many Syrians have fled the country to escape the fighting and more than a million are registered as refugees, according the UN. At least 300,000 are estimated to be living in Turkey.

Moscow talks
The conflict in Syria will be at the centre of talks in Russia between President Vladimir Putin and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

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For months now, the noises from Western capitals have vacillated between the cry 'Something must be done!' and the forlorn reply, 'But what?'”


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Russia is concerned by Israeli air strikes on targets inside Syria, while Israel is unhappy at shipments of Russian weapons to Damascus.

Mr Netanyahu is expected to request that Russia stop supplying the Syrian military with advanced weapons systems. Recent deliveries have included air defence missiles and artillery systems.

Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was not violating any international sanctions and would honour already signed contracts, but avoided confirming reports that it was preparing to sell Damascus S-300 air defence batteries.

Earlier this month, the Syrian government accused Israel of bombing military facilities near Damascus. Israel declined to comment, but security sources said the air strikes had been aimed at preventing the transfer of Iranian-made missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Following the attacks, the Russian foreign ministry warned that the "further whipping-up of armed confrontation" sharply increased the risk of "pockets of tension" in Syria and Lebanon.


Some Syrian refugees are settling in Turkish towns, rather than camps
In recent days, Russia has been at the centre of diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

President Putin has had talks on Syria with UK Prime Minister David Cameron and the US Secretary of State, John Kerry. Mr Kerry and Mr Lavrov have also agreed to work towards convening a new international conference to find a political solution.

It will try to convince both the Syrian government and opposition to accept a solution based on the core elements of the final communique issued on 30 June 2012, after the UN-backed Action Group for Syria meeting.

The communique called for an immediate cessation of violence and the establishment of a transitional government that could include officials serving under President Assad and members of the opposition.

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said on Tuesday that Syria would need more information before deciding whether to attend such a conference but would not be party to any meeting which harms "national sovereignty".

He said the future role of Mr Assad was an issue "only for the Syrian people and the ballot box".

'Furies unleashed'
On Monday, Prime Minister Cameron and US President Barack Obama expressed hope that Russia would help persuade President Assad to step down.

President Obama: The situation in Syria is "a combustible mix"
"As a leader on the world stage, Russia has an interest, as well as an obligation," Mr Obama told reporters in Washington, though he admitted that there remained "lingering suspicions" about Moscow's commitment to ending Mr Assad's rule.

Mr Obama also sounded a note of caution about the new conference, which US officials said was likely to be held in early June and not at the end of May as hoped.

"I'm not promising that it's going to be successful," he said, adding that "once the furies have been unleashed", it is "very hard to put things back together".

Mr Cameron said the UK would call for greater flexibility in the EU arms embargo on Syria, and that it would double non-lethal aid to the rebels, shipping armoured vehicles, body armour and generators.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22519770


Remind me again why we're helping these animals? desecrating corpses, eating their ****ing hearts? this man needs to be hung drawn and quartered, hes an affront to humanity and the Syrian people

This is what Salafis are - animals.. The "rebels" follow the same religion and culture as thousands in mosques up and down this country.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22519770


Remind me again why we're helping these animals? desecrating corpses, eating their ****ing hearts? this man needs to be hung drawn and quartered, hes an affront to humanity and the Syrian people

Meanwhile some Brits are happy to judge others and degrade them as animals. As a fellow Brit, I am associated with them.

It does not make me you.


Posted from TSR Mobile

Because hanging, drawing and quartering is certainly not a war crime of a similar nature.....

.. Oh no wait...


Posted from TSR Mobile

Because hanging, drawing and quartering is certainly not a war crime of a similar nature.....

.. Oh no wait...


Posted from TSR Mobile

This is what Salafis are - animals.. The "rebels" follow the same religion and culture as thousands in mosques up and down this country.

An eye for an eye, lessons not learned in blood are soon forgotten. and besides would you have happen to it? [lets face it its not a person] prison? hanging? no for these barbaric and thoroughly repulsive acts he needs something more and i challenge you to find a more nasty way of executing someone than what i said.


Youll have to pardon my ignorance here ive not bothered reading up on the various groups other than Assad vs. terrorists who have a bad habbit of bringing the religion card in.

Remind me again why we're helping these animals? desecrating corpses, eating their ****ing hearts? this man needs to be hung drawn and quartered, hes an affront to humanity and the Syrian people

I've seen the video it wasnt that bad at all so if anyone wants to view it go ahead.

The guy holds the heart and says something to the camera (sort of like the mexican cartel videos)

then it looks like he takes a nibble out of the heart before the video suddenly ends.

But im not suprised at all that this is happening. War is hell. Anything goes.

Even the zetas wont do this.

How do you sleep at night after doing something like this? And we are supporting these guys........

And when was the last time that happened

The point is that the savagery of this country in the past, is the savagery of Salafis today They are hundreds of years behind the civilised world, and want to go back even further.

Excellent. One Syrian man doing one outrageous thing and everybody becomes him, in your eyes. Lovely.

"An eye for an eye".

You say that like it carries weight but condemn the behaviour of someone who does savage acts in revenge for decades of savagery inflicted upon the people of Syria?


Posted from TSR Mobile

All im going to say is read the news more often about the attrocities committed by the rebels, dont come back with the arguement about the government this debate is solely on the rebels.



Yes because one man doing his job deserves to have his heart cut out and nibbled on like a corn dog? and please dont exagerate syria was one of the most peaceful of the arab countries untill the place exploded and the terrorists got involved. Besides please humour me as to the brutality of the dictatorship, im not saying they were saints but they didnt have roaming death squads mowing down civillians and bombing people for the ****s of it? in fact they sound remarkably similar to what the US does, theyre just open about it... isnt that funny?

Excellent. One Syrian man doing one outrageous thing and everybody becomes him, in your eyes. Lovely.

I still think you are still conflating Salafis with active extremists. Their particular religious doctrine might be undesirable, but I'm not sure tarring them all with this brush is unfair.

Do you assume all evangelical Christian pro-lifers write death threats to doctors who carry out abortions?


Posted from TSR Mobile

Meanwhile some Brits are happy to judge others and degrade them as animals. As a fellow Brit, I am associated with them.

It does not make me you.


Posted from TSR Mobile

Being British is a legal status. Being a Salafis is an ideological status. The Salafis in this country and the one eating human flesh in that video share the same ideology and culture.

Salafis are animals and should be recognised as such.