16 Jul 2012

SYRIA/ TREIMSEH

United Nations observers who examined the Syrian village of Treimseh on Sunday (15 July) said that, based on what they saw and on witness accounts, the attack there three days ago was targeted at army defectors and activists. UNSMIS

Posted at: July 16, 2012 1:01 pm

Duration: 02:21

Available in: SD

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STORY: SYRIA/ TREIMSEH
TRT: 2.21
SOURCE: UNSMIS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 14, 15 JULY TREIMSEH, SYRIA

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide shot, town of Treimseh
2. Wide shot, observers walking into the town of Treimseh while one of them talks on his radio
3. Med shot, man holding remnants of ammunition
4. Wide shot, damaged minaret
5. Med shot, damaged house
6. Wide shot, damage school 
7. Close up, sign: Treimseh school
8. Wide shot, interior school (where allegedly some neighboring villagers sought refuge) Man shows a blood stained mattress. Blood stained walls
9. Wide shot, burnt out shop
10. Close up, remnants of bones and scull of a burnt body
11. Med shot, leg of an injured boy
12. Zoom out, unexploded mortar shell
13. Med shot, point where a mortar shell exploded on the street
14. Med shot, a mine action expert examines the effects of the shells on a wall
15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) young man: 
"They killed my three brothers. One of them was an army defector but the other 2 were just normal citizens who has no nothing to do with Army. They killed the three of them in a summery execution style after they handcuffed them. Then they burnt them and took the bodies with them. We want to see the bodies."
16. Wide shot, locals leading the observers to another burnt house
17. Wide shot, an observer and a mine action expert walk towards other observers interviewing witnesses.
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Peter, Norwegian observers heading the team: 
"We entered the village of Treimseh and we are looking at some of the destroyed building and some remnants of the war from the fighting that took place the day before yesterday. So far we have seen a number of burnet our buildings and we have seen remnants of war in terms of shillings, bullet holes etc."
19. Med shot, burnt field hospital
20. SOUND-UP (Arabic) grieving woman: 
"He left young children"
21. SOUND-UP (Arabic) young woman: 
"I have been married only for 20 day, his name is Milad. They killed him and took the body and they haven't returned the body yet."
22. Med shot, mass grave still waiting for the bodies.
23. SOUND-UP (Arabic) A man's voice out of camera says 
"We line up the bodies in 3 or 4 so we can leave quickly the cemetery".
24. Med shot, covered part of the mass grave that is supposed to contain 45 bodies

STORYLINE:
United Nations observers who examined the Syrian village of Treimseh on Sunday (15 July) said that, based on what they saw and on witness accounts, the attack there three days ago was targeted at army defectors and activists.

Staff from the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) observed over 50 houses that were burned and/or destroyed, according to a statement issued today that also noted that "pools of blood and brain matter were observed in a number of homes."

The "consistent account" relayed by 27 local villagers who were interviewed by the UN team indicated that the attack began in the early hours of 12 July with the shelling of the village followed by ground operations, a mission spokesperson said..

"According to those interviewed, the army was conducting house to house searches asking for men and their ID cards. They alleged that after checking their identification, numerous were killed. Other men were taken out of the village," a note to correspondents from the mission spokesperson said.

"On the basis of some of the destruction observed in the town and the witness accounts, the attack appears targeted at army defectors and activists," said the statement.

UN observers also confirmed the use of direct and indirect weapons, including artillery, mortars and small arms, the statement said.

The Mission added that the number of casualties is still unclear and that it is trying to seek further verification.

Thursday's attack was condemned by UN officials as well as the Joint Special Envoy for the UN and the League of Arab States for Syria, Kofi Annan, who said the attack, violated the Government's commitment to the six-point peace plan.

That plan calls for an end to violence, access for humanitarian agencies to provide relief to those in need, the release of detainees, the start of inclusive political dialogue, and unrestricted access to the country for the international media.

Filed under UNSMIS.