Syrian Islamist Rebel Filmed Eating Organ Of Dead Regime Soldier

[BurfordTJustice]

Syrian Islamist Rebel Filmed Eating Organ Of Dead Regime Soldier Say He Has
Another Video Of Him Sawing Government Fighter "Into Small Pieces".


Animal.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - News sites around the world have shown Khalid
al-Hamad sink his teeth into what appears to be the lung of a dead Syrian
government soldier. His fellow rebels have called for him to be arrested or
killed for the act. Human-rights groups have condemned him. But al-Hamad has
no regrets.

The video, a 27-second clip in which al-Hamad brandishes organs that
appear to be the lungs and heart of the Syrian soldier who lies dead at
al-Hamad's feet, was first seen by two reporters in April. A few weeks
later. Though we had been told by witnesses to the filming that the video
was legitimate, we set about authenticating its content, aware of the
potential that it could have been faked for propaganda purposes. Al-Hamad
has now confirmed that the video is real, and that he did indeed take a bite
of the soldier's lung. (At the time of filming, al-Hamad believed he was
biting into the liver. A surgeon who has seen the video confirms that the
organ in question was a lung, which somewhat resembles the liver). On May
12, a copy of the video appeared on a proregime website, sparking a flood of
Facebook Shares and YouTube views.

Al-Hamad, who is Wahhabi (extremist Sunni) and harbors a sectarian hatred
for Alawite and Shiite Muslims, said he has another gruesome video of his
killing a government soldier from the Alawite faith. "Hopefully we will
slaughter all of them [Alawites]. I have another video clip that I will send
to them. In the clip, I am sawing another shabiha [progovernment militiaman]
with a saw. The saw we use to cut trees. I sawed him into small pieces and
large ones." Al-Hamad also explained that even though both sides of the
conflict in Syria are using video clips of their own brutal actions to
intimidate the other, he believes his clip would have particular impact on
the regime's troops. "They film as well, but after what I did hopefully they
will never step into the area where Abu Sakkar is," he said, using his nom
de guerre and referring to the part of Syria he currently controls.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), which validated the video, released a report on
May 13 identifying al-Hamad as a well-known commander responsible for the
recent cross-border shelling of a Shi'ite Lebanese village that killed two.
The organization called on the U.N. Security Council to refer the Syria
situation to the International Criminal Court to ensure accountability for
all war crimes and crimes against humanity. "It is not enough for Syria's
opposition to condemn such behavior or blame it on violence by the
government," said Nadim Houry, HRW's deputy director for the Middle East.
"The opposition forces need to act firmly to stop such abuses."