Sunni Syrian Rebels besiege 2 Shiite villages, showing Syria’s divides - Shiites survive through Kurdish blockade runners
The work of the Free Syrian Army the USA is supporting via the Saudis (or maybe now the USA is backing away from supporting if reports are true from what I hear in European press).
With freedom fighters like these………
In split between neighbors, Sunnis besiege 2 Shiite villages, showing Syria’s divides
HAMZA HENDAWI
Associated Press
AP
5:27 p.m. CDT, October 18, 2012BEYANON, Syria (AP) — Anyone who dares try to slip out of the Shiite villages of Zahraa and Nubl is risking their life. Sunni rebel snipers outside are ready to gun them down. Roads out are blocked with barricades and checkpoints. Twice a day government helicopters bring residents supplies in a crucial lifeline.
For more than three months, Syria’s rebels have imposed a smothering siege on the villages, home to around 35,000 people, which they say are a den of pro-regime gunmen who have shelled, killed and kidnapped Sunnis from nearby villages.
…snip…
In the distance, Syria’s national flag — now the symbol of Assad’s regime — was visible flying from a water tower in Zahraa, unlike the rebel flags raised in Sunni towns. The Shiites in Zahraa and Nubl are coping with the siege by relying on supplies from a friendly Kurdish village on the other side. But they cannot venture further than that for fear of being killed or kidnapped. Government helicopters frequently land there, bringing the villagers further supplies.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-bc-ml—syria-shiites-under-siege-20121018,0,2728306.story