In Syrian City, a Calm That Few Expect to Last
Amid rumors that the government is massing forces outside Zabadani, local militia leaders claim that a growing number of residents are joining a band of soldiers who defected, some of whom say they are part of the Free Syrian Army, a militia of defectors with leadership based in Turkey. Local fighters’ ties to the broader movement are unclear.
Some of the soldiers in Zabadani say they changed sides in September, during a three-day assault by the army that sent residents into hiding in the mountains. They included two friends from the same battalion, who said they had fled because their commanders had lied to them, telling them they would find terrorists in Zabadani.
“They were all civilians,” said one man who used a pseudonym, Abu Qusay. His friend, Abu Saad, added, “It was not as they described it.” He said his job now was to protect protesters.
The Arab League observers visited an apartment blown apart by an artillery shell, a driveway with a mound of spent ammunition casings and a restaurant on a hill, where residents pointed out a government sniper nest and the pattern of tank treads stamped into red dirt. One of the observers, climbing into an armored Mercedes for the trip back to Damascus, expressed confidence about the mission’s deterrent role, saying of the army, “They are not coming back.” Then, a bit more hesitantly, he added, “I will try.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/world/middleeast/blasts-kill-at-least-14-on-syrian-police-truck.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2
