Syria: Massacre of Fertilizer Plant Workers

June 23, 2015
(incomplete)
last edits June 26

cropped video still

Starting Point: SNHR and Wikimapia
The recent SNHR report on sectarian massacres (review - PDF) gives some incidents I've never heard of or looked into. One of these is "Eastern Buweida Massacre," May 31, 2012. This one I knew of, but for some reason never researched (except a bit once, by accident). They list 12 dead, all workers at a fertilizer factory, killed after their bus was hijacked.

I'm not finding any direct pro-government sources easily, but I know they exist and blame rebels just as clearly as rebels do the opposite. Just from a quick search of sources crediting rebel accounts, there's enough here to work with and get a good view of the more likely truth of the matter.

 

In the report they cite a sub-report "fertilizer factory massacre..." I found here, but referring to "the manure factory located in Qattina village." The 12 men were taking the bus home to Eastern Bowaida (Buweida al-Sharqiya ) but the bus was soon "stopped by a government forces checkpoint, and it’s a known checkpoint at the entrance of Qattina village" - not some improvised one, or so they hear. The workers were taken to a "nearby farm," and tortured "in methods that goes back to the inquisitions of the middle ages," shot them dead and then mutilated them more. It's not evident, even after some research, just what the "sectarian background" aspect is supposed to be here.

The 2-page pdf adds 12 names, and lists some videos or images "attached" (but not). These cite previous shelling and other attacks in the area, especially on May 25. "The moment of the shells falling on Al Bowaida May 25, 2012" sounds worth looking, but I can't find it anywhere.
 

The area layout is easy enough with Wikimapia, used for the inset image. The inset graphic shows the "manure factory" - a state-run enterprise, not some poop-shack but a large technical facility, per the map. The most logical route for a bus from a parking lot there is traced in orange here, likely checkpoint spot marked in green. This may or may not matter - I suspect the abduction happened either right there as SNHR insists, or further south (see point 4-6  below). A nearby farm they were killed at could be in any direction, depending - other than probably not  towards the nearby army base.

Other Sources

June 1, Telegraph: "Syrian troops brutally slaughtered 13 factory workers after forcing them off a bus in the third massacre in less than a week, it has been claimed. ... Activists said the victims worked at a fertiliser factory and their bus was intercepted by militias, who robbed them, forced them to chant pro-regime slogans and then killed them." (cited some more below)

BBC reports June 1 New Syria 'mass killing' reported ahead of UN meeting - itself a possible clue. Nothing in the article adds to the material above.

No detailed review for videos and photos yet, but there's one prominent low-resolution one still available here on Youtube. The still used here above is from that.

The opposition VDC list 10 clear fits, maybe 12 8 have the note "A bus containing 13 workers in the in the factory of fertilizers was kidnapped and they were taken to Military Al-Rahba area were they were tortured, killed and their bodies were distorted." Some are listed "Worker in the factory of fertilizers." Names and details later - three victims seem to be brothers, or have the same name anyway.

Issues to Ponder

1) They were robbed - FSA and friends need funds - as does the Army, I suppose. I bet the abductors timed it to line up with payday or right after.

2) They were made to chant loyalist slogans and then killed - do they get bonus pay for that? How do rebels know that happened? Heard the singing across the fields? Maybe this is just rebel code - 'their being forced to be loyal to Assad' (work for a state-run factory = 'sing loyalist songs at gunpoint') caused them to be killed, and their regime pay to be confiscated.

3) Bodies were filmed by rebels - because the Army/whoever ran this crime can't be bothered to cover-up a massacre of state employees their bosses would try to deny and blame on "terrorists?"

4) It's not known if they were abducted at a checkpoint, or on the highway after, on a stretch rebels ran long enough to pull that off. And if a checkpoint, we can't really be sure it was always government-run (see next two points).

5) The VDC lists one rebel fighter Hamoud Mohammad Moheb Al-Dein, age 20, from Qosair also arrested at the checkpoint and executed. Did he wind up on the bus? Or just passing through on this wrong day and picked to share the workers' fate? Or perhaps ... he died in the attack on the checkpoint that can't be admitted, after which rebels took it over and used it to stop a bus full of state-factory workers?

6) Military Context: could rebels take over a checkpoint? Just before the Houla Massacre a ways to the north six days earlier, rebels took over 4 security posts at once to secure general control of Taldou and kill people there (see report). On the same day, Qusayr rebels - who would be the ones hijacking this bus - had overrun the Alawite village of Shumeriyeh, just off the map here to the west, 5km from the green circle (ACLOS).

7) A Pattern of Killing State Workers?
Interestingly, the Daily Mail's piece included this:

"A pro-government Facebook page, the Homs News Network, posted photos of 11 men on the floor of what appeared to be a classroom. It blamed the rebel Free Syrian Army, saying the workers were killed for being state employees. The opposition blamed the government.

 

Yesterday, 13 bound corpses, many apparently shot execution-style, were found in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour near the Iraqi border. The men were believed to be workers for an oil company. It was unclear who killed them. ..."

Two video stills below the article show bound and executed fighting age men - presumably the same 13 and not a third yet set of 13 - and have captions that say otherwise: "Brutal: In further bloodshed, UN observers found the 13 bodies of Syrian army defectors lying on the ground near Deir el-Zour, in Syria after being killed by Assad's forces" - "Execution: The men are believed to be defectors from the Syrian army who were caught and killed" And also some thought they worked for an oil company ...

If those were soldiers, of course they weren't "defecting." Really? What luck they tried to join rebels, were rounded up and killed by their bosses, and then left there as the bosses leave, and found by rebels who appear, probably before the blood even started to dry - as the usual case goes. These were some kind of security force at some oil facility - possibly state-run - which rebels overran. They were rounded up and executed, likely on a sectarian basis like al-Nusra fighters did more openly at the Shaddadi petroleum factory in Hassakah, in February 2013.

 

In case that's not plain as day, the very next crystal-clear day, across the country in Homs, 13 state factory workers are rounded up and executed with torture.

8) Other incidents, sectarian signs: in early March, 2012, a reported 13 workers of what sounds like this factory were targeted - at least 6 were listed as killed by regime's thugs "martyred along with 13 others after the shuttle he was taking to his work at the Compost Factory in Tal Al-Shoor (right next to this facility) was targeted by Assad's thugs from the Alameen Town." (I can't find al-Amin, but there's a Mneen along the long implied route)  They're listed as living in Harbinafsah, Hama, which, as explained here, suggests they may be Alawi.

Then, about two weeks after this May 31 massacre, another bus attack on civilians a little ways south of here and headed towards Lebanon was taken by rebels. Alawi passengers were identified and taken away, with nine reportedly beheaded. See here.