TV Report on Free Syrian Army Stronghold in Idlib

Following are excerpts from a report on the Free Syrian Army in Idlib, which aired on the Al-Jazeera network on March 9, 2012 :

Reporter : The path to the strongholds of the Free Syrian Army is exhausting. Our guides carried some equipment on their backs. The beautiful landscape conceals the fighting that is going on. The thick forest and the rugged terrain are the main ally of the members of the Free Army, when hiding from the eyes of those whom they refer to as "the enemy." However, in some dangerous areas, where you can be sighted by the regular army, you have no choice but to run.

We are now on Syrian soil, on our way to the strongholds of the Free Syrian Army, in order to observe conditions there. We have reached the battalion of the Free Army. The tents are clustered in a small area, as dictated by military circumstances, which require the use of nature for protection, after the possibility of being protected by a no-fly zone was lost, as these fighters say.

Some of the battalion's men concealed their faces, out of fear for their families' safety. They were preparing their morning coffee. I asked the commander Abd Al-Salam about their relations with the Free Army, and about his future plans.

Abd Al-Salam : Relations are very good. We are coordinated with them. We have soldiers who defected from the regular army. We have contacts with them, they give us useful instructions. We think that we are going to get support. There are young men who are ready to join us. We will have larger squads. We are going to liberate the area and turn it into a safe haven, in order to ease the burden on people.

Reporter : After the interview, Abd Al-Salam led us to inspect the morning roll call, which included special rituals typical of the revolution, as he says. We went to the guard post, where we met a soldier who said he used to work for the State Security Service in Damascus, and told us the reason for his defection.

Syrian Army defector: It was Friday. Five officers came and ordered us to shoot at the demonstrators. Of course, we did, and the next day, we agreed that we would defect. This was in a region called Kiswe.

Interviewer : On the front line, you see the soldiers and the trenches, in anticipation of the movements of the regular army.

This is Ahmad Zaydan, Al-Jazeera TV, reporting from the strongholds of the Free Syrian Army in the Idlib Governorate.

[…]