Source: 21st Century Wire
In its zealous pursuit to misinform western public opinion about Syria, MSM has canceled dozens of scheduled interviews with a war reporter after he has declared to Belgian RTL radio: “It wasn’t the government of Bashar al-Assad that used Sarin gas or any other gas in Ghouta”.

Pierre Piccinin da Prata, the Belgian war reporter and Editor-in-Chief of The Maghreb and Orient Courier, held hostage with Italian war reporter Domenico Quirico by Syrian ‘rebels’ for five months, eavesdropped a conversation through a closed door- between their jailers about the chemical weapon attack and saying that President al-Assad was not responsible for Ghouta Sarin gas attack.

“Syrian government had no interest in using the gas. Strategically, it was useless; and that could only ruin his image on the international level, with the risk of an American attack,” the reporter told the Syria Times e-newspaper, calling on western media outlets that have been wrong about Syria, about what has really happened since 2011 to recognize their errors and restore truth for their readers and listeners.

Piccinin, who was sold by the commander of the Katiba of the so-called the ‘Free Syria Army’ he was with to the al-Farouk Brigade for a few hundred dollars, posed the following question: what is the point of being a war reporter if it is not to tell the truth?

Following is the full text of the interview:

ST: Why and how were you taken hostage by the Farouk Brigade as you had been a fierce supporter of the so-called ‘Syrian Arab Army’?

Piccinin: I was kidnapped by al-Farouk Islamists in April 2013, in al-Qouseir, in the governorate of Homs.

I was doing an ’embedded’ report at the time, with the ‘rebels’ of the Free Syrian Army (FSA – when they still existed, before disappearing when the rebellion was completely Islamized).

At that time already (April 2013), the ‘non-Islamist’ rebels realized that they had lost the game. Many were returning home or fleeing to Lebanon or Turkey. Some joined the different Islamist groups. Jabhet al-Nusra, especially (al-Qaeda in Syria). But some groups of the FSA continued to occupy the land they still controlled. But they no longer fought the Syrian army: they behaved like bandits; they ransacked the population, under the pretext of taking money for the war effort. And some FSA chiefs started to kidnap people, to enrich themselves personally. That’s what happened to me: the commander of the katiba of the FSA I was with sold me at al-Farouk for a few hundred dollars.

ST: What is the lesson you have learned from the five months in captivity?

Piccinin: As a war reporter and specialist of Syria, and Islamist circles, this experience (although it was very painful nervously and physically) taught me a lot about the evolution of the conflict and also about the realities and internal functioning of these Islamist groups. On their behavior, their convictions, their vision of the world…

I have not been locked up for five months. I was moved very regularly as the conflict evolved. At this time, the fighting followed one another: the front lines moved a lot. In particular, I experienced the siege and the fall of al-Qouseir. The city was taken over by the Syrian government in early June 2013.

So I was able to observe what was happening, constantly moved between Damascus and Aleppo. And I was not attached, nor blinded. I could even talk to the fighters who held me, regularly and also to the people I met. I was very guarded, sometimes locked up, but very often free to communicate, with the Islamists and with the people who gravitated around them. I took my meals with them. We often slept in the same room. I was even present when they prayed or during their military meetings.

I hoped that someone (among the people I meet) would react and help me to free myself. But the Islamists terrorized the population. People were very afraid of Ammar al-Buqai, the al-Farouk chief, who held me. And nobody dared to defend me. One day (it was in Yabroud, near the Lebanese border), a man told me: “They (the Islamists) are a real problem for us. It’s dangerous to contradict them. They are very dangerous. We must pretend to obey them.”

It was a very hard and painful human experience (for my family, my parents in particular, they are old). But, professionally, I dare to say that it was a great enrichment.

On the human side, moral, I also learned a lot. I have seen what level of cruelty, violence, malice and cynicism the human being can reach…

ST: You have stated that it is not the Syrian government that used Sarin gas or any other gas in Ghouta. Have you tried to give your testimony to international investigation committee about the use of chemical weapons in Syria? And Why?

Piccinin : At the end of this period of detention (it was at the end of August 2013), the jihadists who held me spoke only about this: the events of Ghouta.

And, at that moment, I was transferred to a large building (it was in Bab al-Hawa, near the Turkish border). This building served as a common headquarters for al-Farouk and the Free Syrian Army. It was in this place that we caught a conversation that allowed us to know that, most likely, the gases were used in Ghouta by an Islamist group, to provoke a reaction from the United States of America (I say “we”, because I was kidnapped with an Italian journalist, who sometimes accompanied me to Syria, and we were detained together).

Obama had promised that he would attack Syria if the government used gas. And it was a time when the rebels were losing the war. Everywhere! So… I guess if the rebels did that, it was to try to drag the United States into the conflict, hoping to reverse the military situation.

The Syrian government had no interest in using the gas. Strategically, it was useless; and that could only ruin his image on the international level, with the risk of an American attack.

My testimony was published by some media and I developed this question in several conferences.

But, no … Never the UN institutions have asked me to testify.

It must also be said that very few European media have published this testimony…

To tell you the truth, when I came back to Europe, I was contacted by dozens of media outlets, who wanted to interview me, and a lot of Belgian and French media of course. But when I gave the first interviews on Belgian radio in the morning, the day of my come back … I obviously talked about this issue of gas in Ghouta … Just after, the phone immediately began to ring: the media that had programmed my intervention in their broadcasts (radio and television) called me to tell me that the interview was no longer possible … For various absurd pretexts … The interviews were cancelled! Indeed, all Western media had accused the government of Bashar al-Assad of using the gas and had claimed that he was guilty. And a reporter who has been on the ground for five months was coming to testify to the contrary … That did not suit them …

Even my Italian colleague has preferred to keep quiet … I never asked him directly why, because I would not like to embarrass him … But I’m sure it was his editor-in-chief who told him not to talk about that …

Anyway. I should have shut up too. It is certain that my professional career has suffered a lot because of this revelation.

But, honestly, I ask myself the question: what is the point of being a war reporter if it is not to tell the truth?

ST: Have you visited Syria after your release? Would you like to visit Ghouta after its liberation from terrorist groups?

Piccinin: I have been to Syria many times since 2013. For example, I covered the battle of Raqqa, against the Islamic State …

But mainly with the Kurdish rebels. Never again with the Free Syrian Army (it does not exist anymore besides… apart some groups, manipulated by Erdogan’s Turkey, in the north of Aleppo). And not with the Syrian regular army.

Of course, I would very much appreciate being allowed to go back to Syria, with the government’s agreement to see Damascus again … and Aleppo.

I had an ambitious project… To ask President Al-Assad for a series of long interviews, for a book.

ST: As you have been in Syria during the war, why President Bashar al-Assad is standing strong after 8 years of terror war on the country?

Piccinin: Already in July 2011 (including in the Belgian newspaper La Libre Belgique), I analyzed the situation in Syria and announced that the Baathist government would remain at the head of the country…

I explained the reasons, complex, for which the president Assad was strong enough to break the ‘rebels’.

Of course, we must mention the complexity of the conflict that President al -Assad had to face. I mean: the complexity of alliances and actors. Syria had to count on faithful and solid allies: Hezbollah party, Iran and, of course, Russia.

But, more than all that, certainly, it is the cohesion of the Syrian army which allowed the victory and the incredible sacrifices of the Syrian soldiers. It is a fact. The Western media have never talked about those boys who gave their lives to defeat the Islamists.

I met them in Syria. They were citizens, young men doing their military service. No monsters, as the media in the West have presented.

More, President Al-Assad had the support of communities, ethnic and faith-based minorities, who have always been protected in Syria and have been able to live in peace in the country (this is not the case in other Arab countries); moreover, President Al-Assad also had a lot of support of the Sunni majority, and particularly in the middle class, who appreciated his policy of economic development and openness.

But, above all, it is obvious that the majority of Syrians have been scared by Islamist fanatics: Syria is a secular country, where the level of education is high, and where there is also a form of social security which ensures the inhabitants of rather good living conditions (in comparison with other countries of the Middle East).

When it became clear that the “revolution” had turned into a fanatic, jihadist, Islamist insurgency, only the regular army could protect the people from the creation of an “Islamic state”. And the vast majority of Syrians supported the government and the army in their efforts to save the country.

ST: Would you like to add anything?

Piccinin: Only one word, for Western media…

It is time for all those who were wrong about Syria, about what has really happened since 2011 … All those who have not understood anything about this conflict … Time to let themselves question… To recognize their errors and restore truth for their readers and listeners.

Unfortunately, the Western press is not as free as it claims … And I doubt that such a questioning will ever take place.

Especially when I read the analyzes produced today: Western journalists have not remembered anything, learned nothing from the mistakes they made.

The consequence is that Western public opinion is very badly informed (or even “misinformed”) about Syria. And on this issue, citizens, especially in Europe, have the impression of “knowing”, but it is a “virtual” knowledge, and they live in a “virtual” reality, far removed from the truth.

***

Interviewed by: Basma Qaddour

Source: Fars
Local sources reported a series of blasts at the positions of Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at (the Levant Liberation Board) and Ahrar al-Sham in Idlib’s countryside, adding that the explosions escalated tensions and insecurity across the region.

The sources said that 15 people were killed and several more were wounded in an explosion caused by a bomb-laden car in the Central part of the town of al-Dana.

In the meantime, a bomb-laden vehicle was detonated near al-Dana chechpoint, killing and wounding several people.

Also, another bomb went off at a bazaar in al-Dana.

The sources went on to say that another bomb blast rocked the al-Zabit neighborhood West of Idlib city, while a fifth explosion caused by an explosive-laden motorbike hit the Northern countryside of Idlib.

Another road-side bomb was blown up on the main road to the town of Kafroumeh West of Ma’arat al-Nu’aman, while, another bomb blast killed a number of people in the township of Tal Hadeh in Northern countryside of Idlib.

News websites affiliated to terrorists confirmed the blasts, saying that the targeted regions are now in a state of chaos.

Terrorist groups are accusing each others starting a fresh round of blasts and insecurity.

Reports said on Tuesday that the terrorist groups intensified assassination operations in Idlib after Doha and Riyadh displayed their differences and darkened relations.

After differences between Saudi Arabia and Qatar surfaced, Abdullah Muhammad al-Muhaysini, the commander and Mufti (religious leader) of Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at (the Levant Liberation Board), called on other terrorist groups to merge with al-Nusra Front (also known as Fatah al-Sham Front or the Levant Liberation Board) under this pretext that Riyadh wants to withdraw support for the militants and will surrender all of them to the US at the end.

He also asked Yasser Abdolrahim, one of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) commanders, to join al-Nusra but he didn’t comply with the demand.

Abdolrahim escaped an assassination attempt after rejecting al-Muhaysini’s proposal and threatened him of revenge.
Field sources also underlined that the terrorist groups in Idlib are facing a deplorable situation as assassinations have increased, adding that al-Nusra is using the darkened ties between Doha and Riyadh and wants to persuade other terrorist groups, including the FSA, to merge with al-Nusra by annihilation of opposition groups.

According to reports, Muhaysini has himself escaped death in two attempted assassinations in recent days, as the assassination operations against terrorist commanders has intensified in Idlib.
News websites affiliated to the opposition groups reported earlier this month that the car carrying al-Muhaysini came under attack near Ma’arat al-Nu’aman in Idlib on June 7 and he received a bullet in his foot.

Ten days later, al-Muhaysini narrowly escaped death in an assassination attempt which resulted in death of one of his bodyguards.

In an attempt to assassinate al-Muhaysini, a suicide bomber blew up himself beside his car near Abuzar Qaffari Mosque in Idlib city center, but the mufti of Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at escaped death while his bodyguard was killed.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar, and suspended air and sea communication one week after the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, accusing Doha of supporting terrorist organizations and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East.
Later, Libya, Maldives, Mauritius and Mauritania joined that list of nation to break off diplomatic relations with Doha.

Jordan and Djibouti have also announced that Amman and Djibouti decided to reduce their diplomatic status after studying reasons behind the tension between Cairo, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Manama with Qatar.

Source: Fars News
Intensified infighting between two groups of rival terrorists in the town of al-Bab North-East of Aleppo province left tens of fighters dead or wounded.

Tens of terrorists were killed or wounded in fierce clashes between the fighters of al-Bab Military Council affiliated to the Free Syrian Army’s al-Hamzeh division with the rival terrorists of FSA’s 1st Regiment in the town of al-Bab.

Field sources in Northwestern Syria reported earlier today that the Turkish Army will likely attack Idlib under the pretext of ending insecurity in the region after intensified infighting between rival terrorists and assassination of their commanders that have roots in the recent tensions between Doha and Riyadh.

The Arabic-language al-Watan daily published in Syria quoted sources close to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) as saying that the FSA has announced unofficially that if the interests of the FSA and other groups, including Ahrar al-Sham, are threatened in Idlib the Turkish army troops will invade the city.

The paper added that the Turkish army, in a preemptive move, has dispatched hundreds of its affiliated militants from Jarabulus and al-Ra’ei in Northern Aleppo to the borders of the villages and towns of Harem, Darkoush and Salqin in order to use them in a possible military invasion.

The daily went on to say that attacks of Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at (the Levant Liberation Board) in Ma’arat al-Nu’aman caused Turkey to form another military coalition over its interests in Idlib in order not to let al-Qaeda-affiliated formations to overcome the groups that are backed by Turkey and Qatar.

Sources told al-Watan that Ankara intends to turn Idlib or at least its border regions with Turkey into safe zones similar to Jarabulus but the plan needs hefty amounts of money that can not be paid by Qatar after fresh developments among the Persian Gulf Arab state.

The paper added that the Doha-backed terrorists in Idlib live in the fear that they might be enlisted as terrorist organizations by Saudi Arabia and its allied states.

By Lizzie Phelan
Source: RT
Syria’s civil war continues to claim the lives of innocent civilians, but the deaths aren’t only happening in areas seized by Islamic State. Rebel-shelled eastern Aleppo is also clocking up high numbers of fatalities, a chief autopsy doctor told RT.

The Aleppo office of Dr. Zaher Hajjo is filled with bodies of those who didn’t make it – many of whom are civilian women, children, and men whose lives were lost to the country’s bloody conflict, now in its fifth year.

RT’s Lizzie Phelan traveled to Aleppo to speak to Hajjo, and saw bodies arrive firsthand.

“Today we received nine bodies, civilians that have been killed by shelling by armed groups. Four of them were women, three kids and two men. Six of them were just injured and killed today, and the other three were wounded yesterday of shelling…and they lost their lives today,” Hajjo said.

“In 48 hours, we received 17 civilians that have been killed from the war, killed from the shelling, and almost 50 others wounded.”

But the fatalities aren’t just happening in areas controlled by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). Areas controlled or contested by both terror groups and opposition fighters are suffering a similar fate.

East Aleppo, controlled by the IS-allied group Jabhat al-Nusra, is just as vulnerable to gruesome atrocities, according to Hajjo.

“Between ISIS and Nusra, the victim is the same and the way of killing is the same. For example, last month we received more than 200 bodies and 1,500 injuries, and this month – although we are at the first week – we have [received] tens of killed and wounded people,” Hajjo said.

But other opposition groups are also responsible for senseless civilian deaths, with Hajjo saying that the Free Syrian Army (FSA) – which used to control Aleppo – committed the same kind of killings.

“It was the same. Nothing changed. There is no difference between FSA and Al-Nusra. It’s just a difference of name,” he said.

But although Hajjo knows there are killings taking place every day in eastern Aleppo, he says it’s impossible to know just how many people have been killed there.

“Of course we don’t have statistics from the eastern side, the area under control of armed groups. And I think nobody can have statistics from that area because so many armed groups, many times they will fight each other, they will kill each other, there are so many other crimes there, it’s not just with regards about war. And some areas, some neighborhoods on the eastern side, [there are more] foreigners than locals and often they don’t even announce the foreigners who have been killed, or sometimes they will just put even the fighters with the same statistics as civilians,” Hajjo said.

The Syrian civil war has led to the deaths of at least 250,000 people and displaced more than 12 million since 2011, according to UN figures.

Source: FarsNews
This latest convoy sent by the Turkish Army comes just 24 hours after at least nine other tanks crossed into Syria to join the Turkish ‘Euphrates Shield’ Operation in Syrian Kurdish regions by Turkish Army’s Special Forces, local sources said.

The deployment of more Turkish tanks into Northern Syria is apparently part of Turkish attempt to increase presence in Northern Syria, followed by Ankara in past couple of days in form of the operation allegedly aimed at driving the ISIL out of the bordering areas around Jarabulus and stopping Kurdish fighters from seizing the territory.

A senior Turkish official was quoted by Reuters as saying that there were more than 20 Turkish tanks inside Syria on Thursday, and that additional tanks and construction machinery would be sent in as required.

“We need construction machinery to open up roads … and we may need more in the days ahead. We also have armored personnel carriers that could be used on the Syrian side. We may put them into service as needed,” the official added.

The Turkish Army with the air support of the US-led coalition launched a military operation on Wednesday to allegedly drive ISIL out of Jarabulus city.

On Wednesday, the Syrian foreign ministry condemned Ankara’s cross-border military operation and entry of Turkish special forces and tanks into Northern Syria.

“Damascus condemns the entry of Turkish army’s tanks into Northern Syria as a blatant violation of its sovereignty,” a Syrian foreign ministry official said on Wednesday.

The Syrian government also reacted to the Turkish officials’ claims that the Turkish troops have entered Northern Syria to fight the ISIL terrorists, and said, “Fighting the ISIL will not be realized by only running the ISIL from Northern Syria and replacing it with other terrorist groups supported by Turkey.”

Also the Russian foreign Ministry said Wednesday that the Syrian crisis can only be resolved through dialogue and on the basis of international law, expressing worry over reports of Turkey’s cross-border attack into Northern Syria.

“Moscow is deeply concerned about what is happening in the Syrian-Turkish border area,” the ministry said, adding that further degradation in the conflict zone and the prospect of Kurdish-Arab ethnic conflict raises alarm.

“We are convinced that the Syrian crisis can be resolved only on the solid basis of international law, through broad intra-Syrian dialogue with the participation of all ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds, and on the basis of the June 30, 2012, Geneva Communique, Resolution 2254 and other UN Security Council resolutions adopted on the initiative of the International Syria Support Group,” the ministry stressed.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ankara had claimed that it had informed Moscow about launching a campaign to liberate Jarablus from the ISIL.

The YPG Kurdish forces and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) had both raced towards Jarabulus to take the city after ISIL started withdrawing from the Northern Aleppo city. But FSA could eventually take hold of the city after the Turkish army incursion and aid.

Meantime, Turkish President President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed on Wednesday that the aim of Ankara’s military operation in Northern Syria is to eliminate threats from both the ISIL and the Kurds.

“We started a military operation in Northern Syria at 4 a.m. this morning, aimed at eliminating the threats posed by Daesh (ISIL) and Syrian Kurds,” President Erdogan said, adding that Turkey intends to put a stop to attacks on Turkish territory from neighboring Syrian regions.

“Turkey is ready to take joint steps both with the international coalition forces and with Russia,” President Erdogan underlined.

By Lilly Martin
Source: OpedNews
The situation here in Latakia is calm. The city itself is safe. We have not had any recent missile attacks, and that is good. The rural countryside is full of terrorists, and especially the village called Selma (aka Salma). This is a small village in the hilly area North East of Latakia. You can find Slounfa on the map, which is a mountain resort town 1 hour drive due East of Latakia. It is a bit higher elevation than Selma. Selma is very close to Slounfa, and sits to the North West of Slounfa.

The problem with Selma is that it is within walking distance of Turkey. Since Turkey has supported and sponsored the Jihadist, and Radical Islamic ideology attackers on Syria since 2011, these terrorists have a safe-haven in Turkey. They receive their paychecks there as well as receive all forms of supplies and medical care there. The Turkish businessmen of the Syrian border region have been milking the Syrian conflict for every US dollar and Saudi Rial they can get. They are also the men who are making money hand over fist in shipping the Syrian refugees to Greece, on their journey to Europe.

The government of Turkey is following a Radical Islamic ideology, even though Turkey was founded on secular and democratic ideals. Some of the Turkish people go along with this new Radical Islamic trend, and others are very much against it, and want to defend their secular and modern democratic traditions. There is currently a huge political divide in Turkey among the population. There is an upcoming election which may either settle the issue, or could possibly lead to an uprising and revolution in Turkey from the grassroots level. Will we see the “Turkish Winter”? The future of Turkey is at stake.

Selma was infiltrated very early in 2011. Because of the borderline location, the terrorists can literally walk back and forth, and so they receive everything they need, quickly and easily. When Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona made his historic visit to the Free Syrian Army, aka FSA, he entered Syria illegally very close to Selma and had his meeting with FSA commander Selim Idriss in their HQ not far from Selma.

Selma has been occupied by terrorists, protected by Turkey, and during this long occupation they have dug many tunnels, so they can go into Turkey and come back safely, without ever showing their face above ground.

In mid-August 2013 the FSA attacked a small village near Slounfa called Ballouta. That night they went house to house and massacred 220 unarmed civilians sleeping in their homes. Men, women and children were massacred, including an unborn fetus, which was cut out of the mother’s belly, and hung in the trees. George Sabra, one of the founders and still a moving force of the Syrian National Coalition (located in Istanbul) , aka SNC, openly praised the FSA for their attack on Ballouta. The FSA is the armed wing of the SNC. The SNC are recognized by the Obama administration as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people (aka Syrian opposition).

Besides the massacre, that same night they kidnapped over 100 children and several teenaged females. Initially, we thought those kidnap victims would be taken to Turkey and possibly sold as sex slaves to Saudi men. We also contemplated the possibility that they could have been taken to Turkey and used for organ harvesting, with the organs and eyes sold to wealthy Turkish and Saudi persons.

However, 9 months later, 44 of the kidnapped children were released in a famous ‘deal’ made between the FSA and Syrian government. That deal allowed terrorists in the Old City of Homs to come out unharmed, with their rifle and 1 bag of belongings, and they were bused to the Idlib area. The other side of the deal was the releasing of hundreds of Syrian civilians who had been held hostage by the terrorists, and the release of the 44 children from Selma.

At the hospital, the children of Ballouta were examined and interviewed. They said they had been held the 9 months underground in Selma. Many reports of torture and killing and abuse were also made known. They recalled that one of the kidnappers spoke English with an Australian accent, as well as spoke Arabic with a Latakian accent. That kidnapped was later identified as a well known Islamic leader from Sydney, Australia who had ties to the Australian political scene, as well as the Australian Islamic community.

The tunnels of Selma are extensive, and that is where the kidnapped children had been held. The fate of the other half of the children is still not known.
The main battles in an around Latakia are at Selma. On a map, you might ask why on earth can’t Selma be liberated from the terrorists? It appears to be so small, and remote. However, it is surrounded by 5 hills, and the Syrian Arab Army must take all of those hills in order to walk into Selma and start hand to hand combat. It is a hard and dangerous process.

The general feeling among Latakia residents is hopeful and waiting for peace to return. People have started to make plans again, and to shop and enjoy going out to eat again. Everyone had felt despair and loss of hope. People felt they were facing evacuation.

Many people have left to go to Germany. Not all of them were poor. Many of them were middle class and upper middle class. Many had homes with no mortgage, they had offices or shops and they had cars. Some sold off everything to finance their trip to Germany. Some already had the 5,000 Euros on hand, and just locked up their homes and properties. The really poor people are sleeping in tents inside Syria, or in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. The people you see on TV walking through Macedonia and Serbia and Croatia have money and are paying their own way to Germany. Nothing is for free. I wish there was a free migration program for people who really have nothing, but that is not on offer. I currently have many relatives and friends who have made the journey through Europe from Syria.

Lastly, I don’t harshly judge any person leaving Syria. We have all suffered almost 5 years of death and destruction. Many people have lost hope, or just want to start a new life in a new place. Since Germany and Sweden are offering lucrative free welfare packages, many are taking advantage of the offer, before Europe decides change it’s mind and shut the doors. There are indeed some refugees in Europe who have suffered greatly and deserve help, probably more than others, but if the help is freely offered, then it is something to be considered. I have chosen to remain in Syria for as long as possible, and many others share my way of thinking, but I do not ridicule anyone looking for safety and hope of a better future.

Lilly Martin: “I am an American living permanently in Syria. I am a human rights activist. I am a medical professional, and I write on events in Syria since March 2011 which I have witnessed myself.”