Douma Civil Defense Morgue Photos
Caesar Photos ... Transitional Overflow?
April 3, 2019
(rough, incomplete)
last adds April 14: color notes,
Some in June that WERE gassed, but missed?
…
My main purpose in looking at the Civil Defense Douma Facebook page (
see here for overview) was a number of interesting morgue photos I stumbled on a while back… I've been looking at images of dead bodies for years now and, while I'm still not a true expert, and could well be wrong on just about anything, I have picked up a lot of knowledge of what's normal under different circumstances. These images out of Douma are not obviously interesting to most, but I think they display subtle differences from the norm that are familiar to me, in a context I've long suspected connects to Douma and the militants running it, and even to the same time frame in which these interesting photos appeared.
I'm looking into a specific method of killing that first emerged after I'd spent some time trying to make sense of the grisly "Caesar torture photos" (herein Cphotos for shorthand). Why were so many men purple, coughing up blood, and mucous, all up their faces, with swollen eyes, and strange extra-purple skin burns, especially on their necks? It finally hit me …the vast bulk of these thousands of men and older boys were gassed to death with a horrible caustic poison, while hanging upside-down, left bleeding out like that 'til dead. (link to formal explanation still not put up)
Sounds crazy, but as I'll show eventually, it's the facts that are crazy like that. Also, it seems like area terrorists were the ones doing this to their surprisingly large pool of stolen and kidnapped people. Jaish Al-Islam comes in a clear first as likely villains, and the guys they starved, tortured, then mass-exterminated in gas chambers were probably soldiers of the Syrian Arab Army and allied fighters they captured, or bought off others groups, but also including many "FSA" type fighters and other competing militants, and even civilian activists they didn't like or considered expendable... and quite a few Shi'ites and Christians, judging by tattoos.
Anyway … IF the Civil Defense Douma photos show some of the same kind of offed detainees, it's definitely in a milder form in all regards, which is interesting, especially considering when and where these similar bodies were appearing …
I'm probably being overly-inclusive here, but also skipping some bland possibilities that are too much like those already here - so if any of these are gassed people, then a few others likely are too, but then some of these here probably aren't Maybe none of them are. But considering the stakes of a line-up, I'm going to check into it. And as it would/might play into a bigger picture with clearer parts, I'll want this up to link to so I don't have to re-explain it all there.
Some oddities that may or may not relate - unusual-seeming facial burns, scrapes, and burned scrapes that seem unusually prevalent, more massive black eyes than one would expect, skull breakage and internal bleeding, perhaps from bombing, beating, not it seems from the eye-swelling we're considering - even protective mucous or cyanosis don't require a deadly chemical … all to consider. Nothing's 100% here, to say the least.
A
March 18 CDD video shows a man with an almost sword-shaped head wound from shelling (it was especially "random") - he displays the swollen black eyes of the kind that's not interesting here - blood from inside the skull flooding into the tissue around the eye, making purple, swollen eyelids - in some cases this is often not fresh - some "raccoon eyes" (periorbital ecchymosis) with time to heal before another and fatal event.
But in other cases, eyes are puffed out a bit or even a lot, but without the bruise color, suggesting the problem is something else, like happened more extremely in the Cphotos. These are of possible interest, as would be eyes that are in both states at once (hard to tell)
Here are the pictures, mostly "FSA" fighters, but also some civilians of note, like small babies. starting from the earliest than I'd expect...
Earliest Signs
1 Hassan Al-Mouaz, Oct. 2012
Before we go into the bulk of relevant images in the summer of 2013, there are a few other examples I found even earlier, that get mentioned in two other posts.
At the CDD overview post, I noted the October 2012 death of a CDD field medic (and militant?) is shot dead the day before their fire marshal was killed, 2 days before Liwa Al-Islam, allegedly, launched their false-flag massacre of 20-30 locals, which LiA, CDD and others, blamed on Assad's "Shabiha." Anyway, he doesn't look plain shot to me. … purple color, yellow color, foam in the mouth, poss. lip burns, sort of strange eyes... This comes about a month after his CDD had predicted the regime might use CWs soon (ACLOS), and lo and behold they were reported to be doing that, first in th Douma area, in mid-November. Right in between is Mr. Mouaz. Did they run at least one test case first on this guy?
Or did they even need the practice? Consider these few examples of the same already appearing in the Cphotos - same kind of "shooting" inside Assad's torture chambers? Below is 227-445, from whatever time span appears in the folder dated Nov. 1, 2012 - within days or weeks, perhaps, of this Abu Ali died.
Next, a plate showing "unknown branch" #604, 606, 607 prior to June 1, 2012 (H# insertions = these were prob. unidentified bodies #604-607 handled at Hosp. 601) (605 is left off as not showing these signs, and being decayed instead - killed before the others, found all at once. There were more in the string, just these 3 show it best.)
Important point on the yellow part of this yellow-purple thing: it sometimes suggests a yellow fluid staining the skin, but considering the sharp lines seen here, and unknown 606's bound wrist (right) it's partly from what was pressing on their skin, causing an interruption of the livor mortis pattern. (The pale areas are called contact pallor, or "Vibices" - "pale marks on a dead person's skin that are caused by dermal pressure (e.g. marks around the neck from a rope)." see here) And as for the purple part... the same source says "Bluish-purple" is the color of normal lividity. Others (Wikipedia) describe "purplish red" and notes livor means blue, not red as I thought, but "The intensity of the color depends upon the amount of reduced haemoglobin in the blood." So purple may not be a sign either, unless it's unusually deep towards just blue, unusually strong in the lips, over non-dependent parts or the whole body, etc. There are some examples of each of those, but also many cases where it's not clear if the extra blue is a suffocation clue.
Fairly early in the span of ugly gassing in CPhotos, some strong but mixed signs emerged (see there). This kid was one of those killed in the chemical checkpoint/barrier massacre, with the just being the locale. Supposedly they were just hacked up with swords or whatever and killed, but 2/3 of the faces suggest - not irrefutably, but strongly - that "Assad forces" killed them chemically and then, in some cases, hacked them a bit too, and burned one quite a bit, gouged an eye out … it seems a bit random, like something psycho criminal people might do after ingesting the wrong chemicals...
Then to images not previously considered, from early 2013 on to the latest ones I could find - and it's a bunch at once - in the first week of August. I'll start with a third earliest view that stands out from the bulk of images.
3 Faris Al-Shamia
2-27 Martyred mujahideh, the hero /
faris muhdir alshamia - CDD photo - VDC ("FSA" from Douma, killed by shooting, diff. but matching image) The high-res CDD photo is better at showing eye swelling, settled high - facial hairs go up = blood over forehead - hair sticks up - app. just blood across upper teeth and out the nose - no, some mucous in there too, but not much (see inside nostril) - little mucous and no cyanosis could suggests no poisoning, or a sharp dose, quick death, minimal struggle - hair covered there (why?), some blood in the ear visible, a bit smeared on his neck. Is all the blood in his hair embarrassing? Yes, actually.. note some fresh blood runs across the tiles (left middle) but that's likely from someone else - I don't imagine this man bled from anywhere but the mouth and nose, and we can see that's all dry. Maybe his body was shot with a gun for effect, but I don't think that's how he died (ref. chem. massacre of 1-28 - seems pretty likely).
This is an amazing image here, like one of the victims of the same Caesar Photos regime torture system winding up in a Jaish Al-Islam-connected morgue in Douma.... Very important evidence. And it's aided by a different VDC image with his head uncovered to show an intact skull, but blood all across the forehead, and hair that sticks up, likely because it was crusted with coughed-up blood and/or mucous while he was suspended upside down. He looks much different there, almost normal, but that's down to the angle, lighting, resolution, maybe a partial wash-up.
Further notes: the spot under his left eye, outer corner, appears to be a sunken burn (see VDC view below, with
helpful lighting ) of a kind seen on the Cphoto victims, and below. Between the images, we can also say h
e was laid face-down in the dirt after death. Before it, he might have been fed less than the ideal. His chapped lips and cracking corners suggest he didn't even get as much water as he should. That would make all fluids thicker than ideal, and make suffocation easier.
Perhaps most interesting is the massive swelling of both eyes, it seems, without that bruise color in the skin to explain it. Note how this swelling tends to settle strangely “high,” which I've seen often in the swollen eyes in the Cphotos (bruise colored and not).
(ex:
215-915,
215-732, 227-530,227-530-1-11-2012 (2)-885759=4109 etc.)
I had taken this as one clue among many the victims were hanging upside-down (at least their head was) as they died. Maybe it's not such a clue, but it does seem to come along with other clues, like with Mr. Al-Shamia here with the crusted-up forehead and hair, who is strangely NOT in the Caesar photos catalog, and never even alleged to be in a regime prison.
A close-up of that swollen eye turned upside down is clear this swelling isn't from blood filling the skin of the eyelid, but from a yellowish fluid under the lids, in with the eyeball. Here it's like a pitcher, with fluid leaking over the lip, dampening (and staining?) the skin there, and rolling over the brow onto his forehead - as if from recently, and from how he was laid. But FWIW, see the glimpse of his forehead at lower right: a similar color. The VDC image is consistent, suggesting it's an orange mix of blood and mucous-fluids over his forehead, perhaps with yellow-brown prevailing on the near side, and blood mainly going over the far side (seems more was coughed up than seen on his right side in the CDD photo). Logically, that would be before the people who knew what it meant decided to wrap it all up like this, maybe to suggest he died from a head wound. Most of that fluid seems dry before the wrapping; hardly any rubbed off on the blue fabric.
So not only was this man gassed with a corrosive substance that damaged his eyes and airways, he was probably suspended upside-down while it happened, and the signs of this were obscured, because they wanted to say he died in "clashes."
More Notes on What's Normal
As we'll see less blood below, let's consider it again briefly, along with that purple-and-yellow coloration noted earlier. Purge fluid from decomposing bodies came up in a discussion about foam on the 2018 Douma massacre victims - it's not relevant there or here, but
Qoppa999 found the image below that I also suspect isn't all that relevant to the point that doesn't matter here (
This may show more blood in it than usual; people don't just leak blood from early decay, and this looks early to me, or even non-decayed. He's fat, not bloating. He has odd colors, but not decay-related ones. The division of colors says he's been dead for hours, at least, but I'd say no more than a day or so.).
But, coincidentally, this picture is quite similar to a lot of what we'll see: purple and yellow color, including purple lips, a lot of blood in the airways. That doesn't mean he was gassed, but it suggests
he died from suffocation, because of blood in the airways and lungs, and developed cyanosis from prolonged lack of oxygen. Why blood pours into the lungs "normally" I'm not sure, but it happens on occasion - a friend's mother died from it recently.
And if someone died from severe caustic inhalation that causes major tissue damage, they'll die about the same way, but also with other things this guy won't have, like eye damage, skin burns, mucous mixed heavily into the blood, or seen instead of it. So the fact that we see such similar signs and just those differences supports my thesis. If it's claimed the victim suffocated and he's purple, that could be accurate. But someone who dies from shooting probably won't turn purple and have their eyes puff out, for example, whatever all the Douma Islamists say.
The 2013 Main Stream, April to July
After this, the martyrs come in cleaner, plumper, less similar to the Cphoto horror show, but still similar enough to keep me wondering. Now that the Islamists were in charge of the area and any hacking, the bodies they show here aren't generally hacked up as if by "Shabiha." They tend to be shown after washing and wrapping for burial, perhaps losing some clues), pretty uniformly on a table in some shaded but exterior morgue area, usually in daylight.
On "Hero Martyrs"
It seems almost like all the men they show are fighters, always described as "hero martyr" or similar, though this is contested or unclear in spots, and several civilian men, boys, and small babies are all shown dead as well. As
Qoppa999 noticed before me, some martyrs at least are clearly with the dominant Liwa Al-Islam, judging by the headband. This one shown in April, in my current analysis, looks like he died from a head wound; although his lips look unusual, it doesn't seem to connect, and nothing else pops out. Actually I didn't check for further clues …
We could presume this one at least is being sent off with honors as a loyal fighter, but even here a name search I'll apply to the victims below points to a suspicious string of bad luck in his family. Maybe wasn't Liwa Al-Islam's favorite member? VDC: Bashar Taha al-Barnawi ( بشار طه البرناوي ) "FSA" from Douma, killed April 18 by (unusually) "field execution" - not "shooting" - near Adra during the "al-Qasas al-Adel battle." Shot execution-style while briefly cornered by Assad forces, who left the body, perhaps. But it's odd. VDC name search for Barnawi ( البرناوي ): just 17 killed, all listed as from Douma. The three closest in time, 2/3 might be brothers by the shared Taha):
* April 25 (a week later) Hamzeh Taha al-Brnawi, civilian from Douma, killed near Adra on 2013-04-25 "by regime forces' gunfire" (why was he also near Adra?)
* July 13: Yousef Abd al-Kareem al-Bernawi, civilian from Douma, killed 2013-07-13 by "warplane shelling" app. in Douma.
* December 4: Mohammad Khalil Taha al-Bernawi, civilian, from Douma, Media Activist, "Martyred due to regime`s shelling"This wasn't in Adra, but about a week before the big JaI-JaN takeover of and amssacre in Adra, staring Dec. 11.
One of four media activists killed in Douma these days, Dec. 2-7, as the VDC's founder Razan Zaitouneh (along with her husband and two colleagues) were also kidnapped by what seems to have been Jaish Al-Islam men...
So yes, to the VDC's listing, "FSA" includes Jaish Al-Islam/Liwa Al-Islam. I've found it includes everyone, generally, except Jabhat al-Nusra (aka...) and ISIS, and occasionally even those... so no surprise. But definitely other fighters included under "FSA" might be from other groups the "Army of Islam" might be wiping out, kidnapping and killing its members, and even their families. And if gassing people is a thing they do …
So far we have two likely cases in 2018 of a defeated JaI gassing families of "FSA" type fighters and blaming "Assad" before they released the rest of the prisoners and were shipped by agreement out of the area.
- 17 March in Ain Tarma, a displaced Jobar fighter and 4+ relatives are in a group killed, mostly unseen but with 3 children looking gassed in a smilar manner to what see here. (this Ain Tarma massacre was blamed on conventional explosives)
- In the famous 7 April massacre in Douma, 11+ people of a Bakriyeh family died, seemingly kin of a prominent "FSA" commander - Mohamed Diab Bakriyeh - who was killed in fighting, they say, in 2014 (oddly, on the same day as a relative - perhaps brother by name, died from regime shelling). He had commanded a Douma Martyr's Brigade that lived on to run afoul of Jaish Al-Islam. Just five months after Bakriyeh's death, they helped spawn and lead a "Jaish Al-Ummah" rebellion that JaI crushed at the end of 2014, arresting and executing the DMB's then commander. The remainder of the DMB regrouped and signed up to help the Syrian government instead of fighting it. Cmdr. Bakriyeh's family might be seen as fair game...
So it's worth considering these people below as possibly victims of an Islamist crime, every bit as much as if they were kidnapped Alawites or something. If potential signs appear, that might be why.
4-10: Mohammed Jamal (Nour)-al-Din from the city of Kafr Batna -
photo - slightly
puffy eyes, plugged nose (gauze, because there are fluids leaking), purple faintly all over, clearer in the lips, suggesting he suffocated for some time before dying. Not as long as some people...
That's some family name given in the CDD photo post:
Jamal Al-Din. In other cases it is, anyway, with a distinct middle name - maybe here it's just Al-Din, and Jamal is his middle name? Just within a few days of him, these Jamal Ed-Dins appear as killed:
SAA soldier from Foua (sugg. Shi'ite) Hasan Jamal al-Deen, listed 3-28-13 ("not accurate" and on the wrong list...) - where I saw it before was several times in the Caesar photos, most close to this time as well -
3-29-2013 given as the date another Jamal Al-Din man was killed in secret detention - that'
s said to be "not accurate", but he's seen in the Caesar photos as
215-1174, in the March, 2013 folder.
Another relative has the same date for his death under detention-torture by branch 215, although his
Cphoto is in the Feb. 2013 folder.
Another (Ali, no middle name) is listed on April 5, as part of "Ten martyrs under torture in military security branch 215" they somehow learned of at the time (date here is considered maybe accurate...). Blow, the 5 ID photos just from what I've found previously at the VDC - the middle two not yet linked to a dated photo …
O
ne of those is named Mohammad, but is clearly not the guy we're looking for, and no one named Mohammad (+anything) Jamal al-Din appears in the VDC dying anywhere near 10 April. Broadening the search, I found instead
Mohammed Jamal Noureddine with a matching picture, from Kafr Batna, "FSA," shot during clashes in Douma 4-10. So never mind the sidetrack for now... unless maybe the Douma people had it right and the VDC was wrong (normally I'd presume the opposite in case of a clash.)
Actual name search: ...
4-11 Ahmad Al-Khatib -
CDD hoto - raccoon eyes, fairly healed from prior head injury before whatever else killed him. Maybe it's the lighting, but it seems like that made his lips purple. But there's no signs of fluid leakage. Except I think that's why they sometimes tie the jaw closed like this … not a clear case. VDC:
Ahmad Adnan al-Khateeb, civilian, from Hamouria, "Martyred Due Regime Forces Shelling" 11 April, maybe somewhere else, unclear. Al-Khatib is a common name on a few others killed in the same days, but none looked suspicious. An Ali Khatibs killed in August might relate, or likely not (see below). Name is very common, explored a bit more with the August entry.
5-2-13 Hamza Sheikh Al-Qusair (child) -
photo -
VDC Hamzeh SHiekh al-Qusair, from Douma, killed May 2 "due to shelling in the town with rocket launchers"
Nat. ID خ80. Noted as a child, but age not provided. Sunken scrape/burn on the cheek, other spots, cause unclear... eye swelling? Faintly purple lips?
The day before Hamza, May 1, the VDC (not CDD) also lists this much younger child
Ahmad Mohammad Hashem Shiekh al-Qusair as coincidentally martyred due to shelling in the town - notes "Anonymous was identified." A National ID no. (unusual) is also given: the same exact one, خ80. Despite same number given, they're different people. By names, they could be brothers: "Sheik al-Qusair" is all the family name, while the younger boy's dual middle name says his father is named Mohamed Hashem, and the older boy has no middle name given. Ahmed notes: Possibly gassed, but with no clear signs.
5-2-13 Ahmed Hamoury -
photo -
VDC Ahmad al-Hamouri from Douma, "FSA" "martyred in the Tahrir al-Sham battle." Simple shooting? Could well be in this case, but not in all of these.
5-30 The martyr child Zakaria Zubaidi from Marj Al Sultan -
photo -
VDC Zkirei Alzbedi from Marj Sultan, age 6, mother's name Abeer. "Martyred due to regime`s shelling" 5-30, not specified where. Eyes, cyanosis: possibly mild issues. Yellow mucous in his mouth?
5-30 The hero Abu Fahd Tammam -
photo - thinned mix of blood and mucous from the nose, puffy eyes - VDC has
Humam Tammam (matching image) as a rare civilian, age 27, killed May 30 by shelling, "the full name is unknown"
And yes, the interesting photos tend to come clustered like this, with a few at once over a day or 3, then weeks with none that I picked up on. But this cluster is a bit long, a late May early June one.
6-2 Khalid Khbayah -
photo - VDC has
Khaled Akram Khbieh as "FSA" and "Martyred during the clashes with the regime's army forces near Tameko Checkpoint, another source said he Martyred in Mleha, He known as Al-Zobair." Note the conflicting reports of where he died. One must be wrong, maybe on purpose. Maybe they're both wrong.
6-2 Hassan Khbayya - poss. relative who looks sort of opposite, and was also a FSA fighter, coincidentally dies the same day? VDC has
Hasan Khaled Khbieh (matching image) Martyred due to wounds sustained by shelling when a fragment injured his head in Hosh Salhia" - a different area, maybe lodged with no contradictory locations also lodged. That doesn't mean it's true.
By names, this man could be the others' son (middle name says his father is named Khaled). By apparent age that makes no sense, and in fact its possible they got the names of these guys swapped. But most likely they're just relatives, however close, who both have the common Khaled in their names, and who were killed the same day in what may not be a coincidence.
Khbaya name search:
106 killed, mainly from Douma, Irbin, of whom
30 are listed non-civilian
Closest entries to these two:
31 May
Obada Majed Khubieh, age 16, a student from Douma, killed by "regime's helicopter shelling" - 21 July
another "FSA" fighter shot in clashes. Later are two odd entries for the same man, more reliably named Khaled, with his name misreported first, and his body left behind for two months...
* 2013-09-27 Ammar Akram Khabbia (VDC entry #96703 ) (Douma, FSA) Martyrdom location: Damascus Suburbs: Baharia "during clashes with the regime's army //// known as Abu Basher, martyred to regime's shelling at a BMB vehicle"
http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/details/martyrs/102817#.XKm2dfZFzIV
*
2013-09-26 Khaled Khebieh (# 102817 -
some 5,000 entries later) (Douma FSA) "His name was also mentioned as Ammar Khebieh, date of death is not accurate, his body was pulled after two months of his death on 28-11-2013
6-2-13 Fadel al-Shaar -
photo -
VDC Fadel Mustafa al-Shaar from Harasta, with "FSA" killed in Mleha "Martyred during the clashes with the regime's army forces near Tameko Checkpoint" - similar signs plus app. burned patches
Day before: a
Maher al-Shaar from Harasta, also with "FSA" was "Martyred during the clashes with the regime `s army In the liberation of Highway."
6-5-13 Ahmed al-Huid ( أحمد الهويد ) - (
photo) - face burns without the eye damage. VDC:
Ahmad al-Howaid "abu Khalil" - a civilian man from Douma killed by shelling, June 5
VDC Name search:
الهويد appears as the full family name in just ten of
these 33 entries (others are longer names including Huid). All-time non-regime forces deaths (including at least 1 regime forces anyway...), seemingly all in/from Douma. There's Ahmed, noted. Here's
his son (?) Khalil Ahmad al-Hweid, from Douma, already killed on Feb. 27, also by shelling. Pos. rel:
Mahmoud Ahmad Hwed from Douma, (has a father named Ahmad, like Khalil did) 9-12-12 field executed and burned. Pos. rel:
SAA soldier Abdulla Al-Ahmad Al-Hweidi killed over a year prior on 4-21-12 -Status: Regime's army. Rank: soldier. no mention of defecting, etc. He should be on the
regime forces list, not this one.
He's there too, same date given. Both entries say he's from Raqqah, not Douma - meaning stationed, killed there?)). Pretty rare name, narrowly defined, at least this 40% containing Khaled as well. Another, maybe a nephew,
Moeaz Hashem al-Hwaid, from Douma, died Aug. 22, in shelling, on the day after the Ghouta gas massacre.
But at least 10% of them is just this guy:
Majid Salim al-Hwed from Douma, "FSA" - killed in clashes 2013-04-29 - and then another 10% is
Khaled Ahmad al-Hwaid FSA, killed by warplane shelling 2014-09-10
Some in June that WERE gassed, but missed?
June 30: Ammar Qatat, FSA, from Douma. He didn't come up in the CDD morgue photos (that I noticed), but same time, and fits the bill. Except they - the VDC in this case - agree he looks gassed and called it in that way.
Ammar Qatat, FSA, Douma,2013-06-30 Cause of Death: Chemical and toxic gases "Martyred due to inhaling chemical gasses delivered by the regime`s army forces in (Kasas Adel) battle, another source mentioned his name as (Ammar Katkat)"
LCC Douma video
Visual notes: Same signs we've been noting: swollen eyes, worse than usual and settled high, not from blood inside the skull - purple lips, also swollen, mucous bubbles (weak foam, from minimal struggle to breathe at the end?), totally clear nostrils at the moment, which would complicate the CW argument a bit, except the argument was apparently already won in this case.'
VDC name search:
قطط
Just 5 killed all time, all but him listed as from Deir al-Assafir. He's one of two listed as "FSA," the others civilian men and a boy killed by various causes (so not much to go on)
June 19: Malek Moustafa Kaekeh, FSA, from Douma. Earlier yet by a few days was
Malek Moustafa Kaekeh, FSA, "Known as (Abu Anas)" - killed June 19 in Zamalka by "Chemical and toxic gases." Notes: "as a result of regime`s army forces shelling with chemical gasses. His name came from another source (Malek Tieser Kaekeh)"
Visual notes: Moderate poss. cyanosis, poss. eye swelling, blood from the eye? Skin irritation, forehead, thick pink foam (a lot of blood, but a lot of struggle).
name search:
كعكة
48 listed killed, with
24 just from Douma, 14 listed as non-civilian. Like the others, these tend to die in close pairs: Kaeka men with FSA died on Feb. 3+4, and on Mar 23+24, 2013, all in battles around Adra, as it says.
27 May: Mahmoad al Eiss and The Afouf FSA cousins And further back yet, at least one more from an unreported attack on 27 May in Harasta, next to Douma,
Mahmoud Omar al-Eiss, a civilian “known as (Abo Sayah)” died “Due to chemical gases exposure in shelling by the regime's army forces with three rockets on the High way front.”
Visual notes: Mr. Eiss (above): not much purple in the lips or elsewhere ... poss. Swollen eyes, yellow substance from the mouth, similar to that seen widely in the CPhotos. As reported, that's more like a civilian killed accidentally in one of several unreported attacks on “FSA” fighters out on a "front." In fact …
three people are listed as CW deaths this day, with the other two being FSA fighters from Harsata, both named Afof/Afouf. Fadel Omar Afof and Yaser Hasan Afouf. A further THREE Harasta rebels of the same name died from “shooting” the following day, 28 May, then 2 more on 1 June, for a total of seven killed in a five-day span (all 7 on
one Arabic list).
One of the Afof men has a photo: blurry: little sign by color. Eyes are closed, possibly a bit swollen. A plug used for airway clearance is left in his mouth to suggest he suffered pulmonary edema. Otherwise, you wouldn't really think it - it's not quite the blue thing I'm mainly looking for...
That's at leasy three alleged chemical attacks in one month (May 27 to June 30), but it never made the news. Meanwhile, back at the Civil Defense Douma Facebook timeline … I didn't notice any of this coming up. Through June and July, more dead guys are shown, but not as many, and none with as interesting signs. That's noting these few at least primarily left off...
Tiny Birds in Paradise
Instead, small infant babies are more interesting for a while in displaying
tight-shut eyes, purple lips, distinctly purple and yellow face. They're mostly or totally unnamed. Three at least pop out as suspicious.
July 1 baby - "Our children, God willing, birds in paradise." Rahman "Freedom Child" the youngest martyr in the city of Duma 2013/7/1 -
video:
Aug. 3 baby girl - as with the others, her face is an unusual purple color, with yellow where skin was pressed so blood didn't settle - may be unusually yellow - may include fluid staining (not clear in these cases)
That last example came as the number of relevant photos of men soars with many likely relevant entries spanning the first week of August, 2013, then stopping pretty suddenly on or before the 8th.
- VDC:
Mohammad Loay al-Afyouni wa a civilian from Jobar, displaced to and killed in Douma by warplane shelling on July 30. He looks a bit clean for that but only a face seen, faintly suggests a chemical death, but not at all clear. Some mucous out the nose? No eye irritation evident. If he was gassed, they did it nice and clean.
VDC image: no mucous at this point, but one cheek is more yellow than the other. Very weak clue.
Name search for Al-Afyouni (
الأفيوني ):
VDC lists 14 killed, mostly civilians, and
8 of those died of toxic gasses, in the 21 August Ghouta massacre just three weeks later. It takes a few lists to get them all in English (diff. spellings). Just the names here, all rep. from Zamalak, not Jobar - 5 women, 4 men, no children. Not one of them has an image.
* Lena Marwan al-Afuoni
* Lena Mahrous al-Afuoni
* Rana Moafak al-Afouni
* Randah Mofak al-Afouni
* Dena al-Afouni
* Belal Moawafk al-Afeouni
*
Mohammed Louae Mowafak al-Afouni
* Mahrous Deeb al-Afeoun
Is that Mohammed Louae the same one already dead in late July? Or just related to four Ghouta massacre victims, instead of 3?
8-1-13 Muhannad al-Saaour -
8-1 photo not so clean. The CDD gave no explanation what killed him, but it left him slightly purple, slightly puffy eyes, lots of blood, and some thick white mucous from his nose. Note distortion of that nostril - it's from how he was laid face-down, maybe lettimg more mucous drain that way. VDC shows for 28 July
Mohanad al-Saour confirmed with a lesser version of this ugly image. As it happens, he was non-civilian, with "FSA," from Douma. He was "martyred due to his wounds sustained by regime's army shelling." Are they leaving it open that the shell contained some toxic gas?
Name search: another al-Saour appears a few entries below in the morgue photos, but checking VDC...
8-1-13 Rida Hashem -
CDD photo -
CDD video - VDC:
Rida Hashem from Mleha, FSA, "Martyred due to his wounds sustained by shelling in Matahen battle" on 30 July. Eyes seem perhaps normal for damage, but a bit sunken (malnutrition?). VDC photo below includes strange - green? area by the eye. I've seen this on dead people as they start to decay (227-405-1-11-2012 (1)-327481=3709), I guess from a nasal infection that was pretty bad when alive? Was he out fighting like that? Or is this something else? A trace of around-the-eye bruising from a head injury weeks ago? He doesn't look decayed, nor gassed really, except poss. burns on the forehead and face, and that blood that may or may not mean chemically-injured lungs. Eye damage seems limited to skin irritation of the eyelids and above, which has a million causes.
Same day:
Mohammed Abdo Hashem (relation?) also with FSA, also from Mleha, was killed directly in the same clash, giving location as "Damascus Suburbs: Marj" All these family deaths might start looking suspicious...
8-1-13 Abdulrahim Abu al-suf - probably just a head wound … VDC has
Abdul Rahman Sa'eed Jbeen, ( عبد الرحمن سعيد جبين) age 19, from Douma, "FSA" killed 7-30 by "warplane shelling" looking different there, but probably the same man.
name search
جبين VDC lists just 4 with al-Jbeen (4 other names including it), from different parts of Syria at scattered times - no pattern pops out.
8-4-13 Ali Al-Khatib -
8-7 post "the martyr hero Ali Al-Khatib" (
علي الخطيب ) -
8-4 video - no signs of eye swelling, or fluid leakage, or cyanosis, but serious burns in a strange pattern …
VDC: http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/details/martyrs/90238#.XKYBKPZFzIV Ali Bader al-Deen al-Khateeb, "Abo Hasan", civilian, no age given, from Douma, killed by shelling 8-4-2013. No picture here.
Name search: There was an Ahmed Khatib, above, way back on 11 April, too far to try and link a common name.
Day before, 2 displaced Al-Khatibs killed by shelling in Hamouriya: Kamal and Mother of Kamal
www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/details/martyrs/89877#.XKYCx_ZFzIV
http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/details/martyrs/89876#.XKYCufZFzIV
3 days earlier, what COULD be the same young man who could fit right in with the "Caesar photos"
"al-Khateeb family, (full name unknown), from Hajar Aswad, Damascus, a civilian, age 21 (consistent), a university student in Arabic Literature, died on August 1, 2013, which is odd to know as he died from "Detention - Torture" in "the regime's district directorate 227 prison" and was not documented by the VDC until 30-12-2014.
http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/details/martyrs/141649#.XKSdfvZFzIV
I'm 99.5% certain that face above does not appear in 227 or any portion of the shared "Caesar photos" at the SAFMCD site. Either that entry refers to someone who does appear, or … no, that's probably it. Two young Al-Khatib guys in a few days, both dying in the Cphotos system, or in one that's strangley similar...
Aside on Facial Burns
Those facial burns Mr. Khatib shows clearest ...Meanwhile, in Assad's dungeons, similar burns under eyes, the cheeks, forehead, etc. Shown next is one of 2 photo crops attached to 2 IDs:
per VDC he's Mohammad Omar al-Sabani FSA, while
a list by SHRC uses it for Khalid al-Joukhdar (but also known as “Al-Seik”), presumably civilian, from Dumar. (SAFMCD match:
215-1596, 3-2013 (2) )
Other burns under the outer eyes at SAFMCD
215-909-2-2012 (2)-987872=7235
215-1407-3-2013 (2)-286942 (vdc_ahmed-alaytah)
215-1769-3-2013 (2)-715144=8022
215-1771-3-2013 (3)-385380=8112
227-849-000 (4)-551772=5038
227-1049-1-2013 (1)-321466=5194
216-213-4-6-2013 (6)-734027
215-1407-3-2013 (2)-286942=7776 (ID Ahmed al-Aytah
215-1466-3-2013 (2)-470625=7689
bridge of the nose
215-952-2-2013 (2)-475217=7285
227-805-000 (2)-224459=4865
216-228-4-6-2013 (3)-980227
215-589-1-2013 (2)-738209
both
215-325-1-11-2012 (3)-599626
215-1606-3-2013 (2)-890154
forehead
227-133-1-11-2012 (3)-523552
227-1159-1-8-2012 (2)-209398=5318
227-1160-000 (2)-752902=5333
227-998-1-2013 (1)-149995=5047
215-3789-24-6-2013-571109=9936
multiple areas
227-1161-1-2013 (1)-955275=5315
227-489-1-11-2012 (2)-099132=3788
216-245-7-6-2013 (2)-972990
216-254-24-6-2013 (2)-297015=4302
215-325-1-11-2012 (3)-599626
Other parts of the face and of the body display similar and different kinds of burning or chemical irritation, especially a peeling purple area across the throat, unexplained but hugely common (a good example, neither mild nor extreme:
215-1638), but the neck thing anyway doesn't appear in these morgue photos from Douma that I've noticed yet.
And briefly, 'unknown branch' #550 (not hospital number, meaning of 550 unclear) from a batch of photos dated July, 2013. This one, in fact, has special importance I just noticed … anyone reading able to spot it? I'll be bringing this one up again... What is up with this similarity between shooting in Douma and torture in Assad's dungeons?
And then these similar burns appear -perhaps it is normal? - with an alleged fuel-air explosive jet attack by Assad forces on 3 markets, in Douma, in 2015.
Mahmoud Hejazi
Khaled al-Tout
I'm not sure about the burns on these few, and the mucous (just flammable stuff can cause this, almost anything for some people...) but of the
100+ men and boys killed in that 3-market attack, about half of them were dead well before the four rocket impacts. And those, carefully mapped, point to a single spot on the ground just outside Douma, where Jaish Al-Islam had to stay for a moment, due to massive protests from the people in Douma, using those markets…
But back to 2013...
8-4-13 Mohamed al-Haboush -
8-7 post -
8-4 video - as it happens, VDC says
Mohammad al-Haboush was a fighter with "FSA" from Douma, killed by "shooting" on August 4. Non-purple eye swelling on both sides, fluids leaking suggested by gauze, faint purple in the lips.
8-4-13 Mohamed Yassin El Saour -
8-7 post -
8-4 video - probable relative of the man killed 4 days earlier -
the VDC say Mohammad Yasin al-Saeour aka Abo Kasem was
also a fighter with "FSA" died in clashes in Adra, shot by regime's army on August 5. That should be the same man, despite the lack of a photo at VDC (next closest is quite close -
another Mohammad al-Saour from Douma killed September 1, but with a different man shown). No clear gassing signs per se, but burns certain spots on his face (under the eye, bridge of the nose, forehead - same we've been seeing). Blood from his nose poured up the face.
eye corner burns examples:
8-5 Hassan Ahmed -
8-7 post -
8-5 video - not much direct sign, but note the odd yellow stains at the head end of his wrapping. They might wrap a lot of bodies oozing yellow mucous in these parts.
VDC,
name search … Gassan Abd al-Aziz al-mansi, (Gassan=Hassan) Douma, FSA, known as Abo Ahmad al-Oqab / during clashes with regime's army. The family name in Arabic: المنسي VDC search for all killed - 30 in the whole war, mainly from Douma. 3 closest in time, FWIW (unclear): a boy killed by shelling in June, Rateb Moshref al-Mansi occupation: Fire Man, also child, killed 8 May 2013 "by regime forces shelling during the fire extinguishers the city" (interesting photo below) and Abdul Haleem al-Husain al-Mansi, FSA, killed 10 Feb 2014 in clashes with ISIS (JaI for one was making a big deal of clashing with Daesh by this time)
8-6 Yasser Abdel Razzaq Mahmoud -
8-8 post -
8-6 video - VDC
Yaser Abdul Razaq Mahmoud, "Abu Maher" Douma, FSA, Shooting on 08-06. He has very pale gums, whatever that means (illness?)
name search …
-
8-7 video - who starved this guy before he died? (the face is not the best indicator, but this looks extra-lean, sunken eyes)
I went through the VDC in English and Arabic for anyone fitting this guy - the closest I found is likely him, but strange -
Omar Obeid al-Sefrani, with a photo of a man that could be the same, in different lighting, etc. Maybe lean but not this lean?
Immediately it seems the one has much heavier hair in every spot - possibly down to lighting?
We could presume a match except for key things like date and area. The VDC entry says he was from and died clear across Syria in Deir Ezzor, way back on June 29.
First Lieutenant Defected" - not proper FSA yet - this is troublingly vague. He was "killed in clashes with the regime `s army at Deir Ezzor military airport" - presumably ON the rebel side. Known as "Abo al-Baraa."
Considering the time AND area difference and app. mismatch, it's probably a coincidence, and the VDC didn't list that lean Omar in August. but let's consider what if … was he not defected, not killed, but rather captured by the attackers, traded, moved to Douma, starved, perhaps gassed, shown off? He didn't get a second listing at VDC if so. I suspect this happens a lot, but they don't usually show it off except for a time via their helper "Caesar." And they did that A LOT, right up to these same days.
8-7 Abdul Hadi al-Baqa'
photo ... VDC:
Abdullah al-Bokaey Defected Soldier
- FSA from Douma, Martyrdom locationDamascus Suburbs: Adra - also a bit lean and unhealthy-looking, and here definitely a "defected soldier" who died the same day as the murky Mr. Al-Abeid.
name search ( البقاعي )
201 killed - many fighters, but mostly civilians - closest span in 2013: June 27: Mohammad Yosef al-Boqaei and his two brothers tortured to death in regime prison - June 29 FSA fighter killed in clashes - July 3 a civilian from Yalda shot by regime sniper in Yarmouk camp - Aug 15 a man from Hejjera kiiled by shelling (regime's?) - Aug 17 a baby girl from Hejjera killed by field execution
(regime's? VDC entry, graphic image)
-
photo …
VDC:Firas Mohammad al-Barazee also "FSA", from Rukneddin, killed in clashes, 2013-08-08 Martyrdom location Damascus Suburbs: Marj.
Firas, Fayes, we could presume it's the same guy BUT There's a photo that looks different - on first blush. But comparing all details, it's the same man before dressing for burial. Gasping, white patches on lower lip (unclear relevance)
Name search: no app. relatives popped up very near in time like these others (maybe more broadly, but that's too maybe to bother with)
No more with this look appear on the Civil Defense Douma page, even with the Ghouta massacre a couple weeks later. However, 2 more entries at the end:
Very similar look on Salem Jawad Aug. 8
https://www.facebook.com/Civil.Defense.douma/photos/a.498999500112124/650258321652907/?type=3&theater
VDC lists Salem Jawad, Douma, FSA, Aug. 5 - different man shown,
http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/details/martyrs/90229#.XLQSaPZFxYd
and also Salim Ibrahim Jawad, Jobar, FSA Aug. 5 - app. same man, shown alive, was lean then, no defection noted. During the clashes with the regime`s army on Abasyin Garage front( He known as Abu Laila)
http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/ar/details/martyrs/90317#.XLQTRvZFxYc
8-8 martyr Fayez Fathi Al - Qallash
https://www.facebook.com/Civil.Defense.douma/photos/a.498999500112124/650256021653137/?type=3&theater
Mohammad Fayez Al-Qalesh "al-Jareh"
www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/details/martyrs/90402#.XLQWSfZFzIV
and Abdul Rahman al-Qalesh
www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/details/martyrs/90314#.XLQWUPZFzIV
Both FSA, killed 8-5, photos, looking like the same man, under 3 names, from Douma, killed in (blank), or from Irbeen, killed in Jobar, by shooting that leaves thehim pale and bland looking, but with stained teeth.
In review - refining the process?
I'm gonna re-write this and fix the formatting, and finish the correlation, and find more/better Cphoto matches, each as possible.
Overview of what makes these morgue photos interesting:
- all in major span of Caesar photos victims, from late 2012 to August 2013
- If these come from a common pool of captives, these would be the key difference
-- a few possibly starved people, (ex: 8-7-13 Omar aleabid) but otherwise perhaps zero people nearly as bad off as what prevails in the Caesar photos.
- there will be less signs of torture, shown off anyway
- none of the eye-gouging seen in the last weeks of the Cphotos
- exposure would be more measured for milder signs (puffy eyes, blood, mucous, cyanosis, all present but comparatively muted), none of those burned necks, etc.
- no Mukhabarat prisoner numbers assigned or written on them, not dumped or sent to Hospital 601, despite at least one victims getting reported and "confirmed" that way later (see above, 8-1, Ali Khatib)... - instead, these others, including Ali, were handled in Douma, described as victims of fighting, bombing, or just basically "Assad" and "this Nusayri system" as Civil Defense Douma liked to call it
.. Caesar photos had already stopped showing so many chemical signs late in the summer, with more men seeming to be starved and then having their eyes gouged out. Perhps they were saving gas from the ugly bulk operation, using it to refine methods on some better-kept male captives … and some tests on small babies ... possibly a refinement of the process? Did they plan a switch to gassing hundreds, including women and children of all ages? they'd be better kept to appear like plausible civilians living at liberty. These men would make a perfect transition, if they were held by Liwa Al-Islam at that time.
Consider: the last two collection dates for the "Caesar photos" are August 6 and August 14, of the same 2013. These seem to be collection start dates, usually, so the last could run closer to "Caesar" suddenly fleeing on the 20th.
http://acloserlookonsyria.shoutwiki.com/wiki/File:Caesar_Photos_Timeline_2018_Revision.png
These similar batches of bodies seen in Douma wrapped up during the second to last folder Caesar fled with. At that point, maybe no one was getting gassed, as the last "tortured detainees" were sent over the "Caesar." As with the preceding several folders back into July, there are less gassing signs in the photos, and more people with eyes gouged out instead. Who was calling their experimentation complete AND saving up their toxins in these days?
Then came 21 August, and the sudden, unexpected gassing death of several hundred civilians across JaI's broad turf in the Ghouta chemical massacre. These, for the most part, look like bland suffocation deaths compared to those in the Cphotos, and even compared to these morgue death guys. but that just might underline the point of this whole terrible operation.
…
