Analysis

Syria: Conflicting Accounts of Alleged Massacre Hurt All Sides
A Syrian boy walks past a burnt house in the Syrian town of Tremseh, July 13, 2012. Initial press and UN reports claimed Syrian military forces committed a massacre against civilians in the town on July 12, but new reports suggest the violence was at least in part the result of a battle between the Syrian army and armed rebels. (D. Leal Olivas/AFP/Getty Images)
July 16, 2012
| Security
| Middle East and North Africa
Summary
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The UN and the United States roundly condemned a massacre of Syrian civilians by the Syrian army in the town of Tremseh on July 12, but new reports suggest the attack may have been a battle between the Syrian army and armed rebel forces. The death toll also may be lower than previously reported. If these new reports are accurate, it would be another instance of the difficulty of determining the facts on the ground in what now appears to be a Syrian civil war.
The alleged massacre occurred in the village of Tremseh on July 12. A UN observer team said it found evidence that the government attacked the homes of government opponents with heavy weapons that included tanks, artillery, and helicopters. After the Syrian army finished its attack, the Alawite “Shabbibha” militia reportedly conducted street-by-street executions of Sunni Muslims and burned down houses. The Syrian government immediately disputed these findings, saying the information from the United Nations team was factually inaccurate. 
 
Yesterday, new press reports surfaced that raised questions about what really happened in Tremseh, including a New York Times story that said what transpired in Tremseh is “murky” and appears to track closer to Syrian government accounts.

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