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BBC INTRODUCES EXCLUSIVE INFORMATION ON ATTACK OF KESSAB FROM ARMENIAN EYEWITNESS
12:35, 27 March, 2014
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. It's very difficult -- because
it's so dangerous -- to get first-hand reports on attack against
the Armenian-populated town of Kessab, which is situated near the
Turkish-Syrian border. As reports "Armenpress", BBC has managed to
get an account of the battle for an Armenian Christian town in the
north-west. Kassab has just been captured by Islamist rebels from
government forces. This is the view of one Armenian farmer, who was
forced to flee from the town three days ago.
"For about the last three years we have civilians that have to look
out to protect our town. They noticed in the middle of Friday night
that the Turkish army which was on the border had left the area.
Kessab is very close to the Turkish border. Around four a.m. tracks
carrying armed militant started coming from the Turkish side. We heard
gunfire and the militants attacked Syrian government police posts
near the town around 5:30 am. They started using mortars against these
police posts. We heard lots of explosions near the villages close to
the Turkish border. We didn't know at that point who these militants
were. After 6:30 people started understanding what is going on and
they started moving away from the centre of the town. We left our
homes without being able to take anything with us.
I didn't have time even to change my clothes before leaving. We got a
few clothes and took our travel documents with us. We moved further
away from the town centre and gathered in a village further away
with our vehicles. Some people went straight to Latakia, but some
others thought the conflict will be over soon and they stayed in the
villages away from the town centre.
There was gunfire and rockets coming from the Turkish side of the
border. I had with me my children, 88-year-old father and my mother
who has cancer. We were one of the first people who left the town, we
didn't have many problems traveling to Latakia, and we went through
many villages with different ethnicities. There has never been any
conflict in our area until very recently. More people left Kessab for
Latakia after 24 hours. The point where we all met was the Armenian
Church in Latakia.
Armenians in Latakia have been hosting us in their houses. There are
still some 50 elderly people who stayed in the town. When I tried to
contact our neighbors in the town from their land line phones they
were answered by some people who didn't speak local Arabic they were
telling us "God is great" in Arabic. I heard that there were some
Tunisian and Chechen militants among them".
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/755591/bbc-introduces-exclusive-information-on-attack-of-kessab-from-armenian-eyewitness.html
From: A. Papazian
12:35, 27 March, 2014
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. It's very difficult -- because
it's so dangerous -- to get first-hand reports on attack against
the Armenian-populated town of Kessab, which is situated near the
Turkish-Syrian border. As reports "Armenpress", BBC has managed to
get an account of the battle for an Armenian Christian town in the
north-west. Kassab has just been captured by Islamist rebels from
government forces. This is the view of one Armenian farmer, who was
forced to flee from the town three days ago.
"For about the last three years we have civilians that have to look
out to protect our town. They noticed in the middle of Friday night
that the Turkish army which was on the border had left the area.
Kessab is very close to the Turkish border. Around four a.m. tracks
carrying armed militant started coming from the Turkish side. We heard
gunfire and the militants attacked Syrian government police posts
near the town around 5:30 am. They started using mortars against these
police posts. We heard lots of explosions near the villages close to
the Turkish border. We didn't know at that point who these militants
were. After 6:30 people started understanding what is going on and
they started moving away from the centre of the town. We left our
homes without being able to take anything with us.
I didn't have time even to change my clothes before leaving. We got a
few clothes and took our travel documents with us. We moved further
away from the town centre and gathered in a village further away
with our vehicles. Some people went straight to Latakia, but some
others thought the conflict will be over soon and they stayed in the
villages away from the town centre.
There was gunfire and rockets coming from the Turkish side of the
border. I had with me my children, 88-year-old father and my mother
who has cancer. We were one of the first people who left the town, we
didn't have many problems traveling to Latakia, and we went through
many villages with different ethnicities. There has never been any
conflict in our area until very recently. More people left Kessab for
Latakia after 24 hours. The point where we all met was the Armenian
Church in Latakia.
Armenians in Latakia have been hosting us in their houses. There are
still some 50 elderly people who stayed in the town. When I tried to
contact our neighbors in the town from their land line phones they
were answered by some people who didn't speak local Arabic they were
telling us "God is great" in Arabic. I heard that there were some
Tunisian and Chechen militants among them".
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/755591/bbc-introduces-exclusive-information-on-attack-of-kessab-from-armenian-eyewitness.html
From: A. Papazian