Syrian Civil War 2011-2012 - Societa italiana di storia militare

3. Major Operations
in July 2012
1. Battle of Tremseh (12 July 2012)
Date 12 July 2012
Location
Tremseh, Syria
Result Syrian Army victory [1][2]
Free Syrian Army
Saleh al-Subaai † [3] Ibrahim Zuait al-Tarkawai †
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Belligerents
Syrian government Syrian Army Shabiha
Commanders and leaders
Strength
Unknown
250–300 (government claim) [4] 800 (opposition claim)
Casualties and losses
37 [5] –50 [6] rebels killed 3 soldiers killed (government claim) [7]
39 killed overall (government claim) [5][8]
150 claimed killed overall, 68-103 confirmed (opposition claim) [3]
The Battle of Tremseh was led by the Syrian Army against the Free Syrian Army in Tremseh, Syria, in the late hours of 12 July 2012
during the Syrian civil war leading to a reported death of dozens of rebels, and an unknown number of civilians. [9] On 14 July, 2012
the UN observer mission issued a statement, based on the investigation by its team that went to the town, that the Syrian military
mainly targeted the homes of rebels and activists, in what the BBC said was a contradiction of the initial opposition claims of a
civilian massacre. They said that the number of casualties was unclear and added that they intend to return to the town to continue
their investigation. [10][2]
On 16 July 2012, the Free Syrian Army backtracked on their initial death toll of 200, saying it had been overblown because many of
the wounded were counted as dead, and reduced the list of those confirmed killed to 68-103 names. But still, activist Abu Adnan,
continued to claim 150 died, with the rest of the bodies allegedly being unidentifiable or stolen by the military during their assault. [3]
A Syrian Army convoy was ambushed by rebels near Hama, which led to a counter-attack from the Syrian Army, and reports
suggested government troops were trying to take back the town from rebel forces. [11][12] According to opposition activists, Tremseh
was surrounded by government tanks and artillery, after which, the Syrian military launched a full-scale attack against the opposition
Free Syrian Army inside the town. Tanks entered Tremseh after forces had shelled the town continuously from 5 a.m. until noon.
Syrian army forces, whose numbers were bolstered by the pro-government militias called "Shabeha", accompanied the tanks into
Tremseh. The opposition claimed that, as the government forces rained artillery rounds into the town, a number of village residents
fled their houses into the streets, where many of them were shot dead by the government militias. [13] Major General Robert Mood,
head of the U.N. Supervision Mission in Syria, said in Damascus that a U.N. team had observed the fighting from three or four miles
outside Tremseh, adding that it involved “mechanized units, indirect fire as well as helicopters.” [14] According to sources close to the
government, the attack on Tremseh was part of a larger offensive decided by the Syrian government, with the aim to crush all rebel
resistance in the next two months. One police agent successfully infiltrated an Idlib armed group and was able to notify the military
about the rebels who were gathering at Tremseh and preparing the convoy attack. [15] The Local Coordination Committees in Hama
and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Syrian Army and the Shabiha, backed by tanks and attack helicopters,
entered the town of Turaymisah, after a rebel withdrawal, and summarily executed [16] over a hundred people. Initial reports put the
death toll at more than 100. [17][18] Later reports said the death toll of the massacre to be between 220 and 250, [19][20] when over 150
dead bodies were found in the local mosque after Syrian army forces left. [21] The people in the mosque, who tried to find shelter there,
apparently died when the building was shelled and then collapsed on them. [22] At one point, the LCC claimed a figure of 280 dead and
200 missing. [23] A number of the dead were reportedly rebels, [24] which was confirmed by the opposition group SOHR by stating that
dozens of the dead were rebel fighters, [25] including Lieutenant Ibrahim Zuait al-Tarkawai. [26] Jaafar, a Sham News Network
opposition activist, said that only seven civilians and 30 rebels were killed. [27][14] This was in line with the military's claim of killing a
"big number of terrorists". [28][29] SOHR put the overall death toll at 150, with only 40 confirmed dead by name thus far. [30][31] A
villager who managed to escape the area said, on condition of anonymity, that Alawite militiamen entered after Syrian rebels retreated
from the area and committed the massacre. The survivor said that houses and mosques were set ablaze by the government forces. [32]