26 images Created 17 Jul 2012
Rural Uprising - One Year of Revolution in Syria´s Northwest
When the body count after 11 months of uprising in Syria was reaching 10.000 in February 2012, yet not much was known about "Arabillion" developments from inside. Accompanied by a group of fighters of new created Free Syrian Army (FSA) german photographer Timo Vogt crossed clandestine into Idlib province in Syria´s northwest.
Supposed to photograph a story in the besieged town of Idlib he managed to get inside via a regular pounded road. He passed a farm house were seven handcuffed men were executed in cold blood hours before.
For his safety he stayed overnight outside Idlib in the village of Courine. A misinterpretation! When hundreds of kids actually went to school in the early morning troops attacked Courine. Shells exploded and gun shots slashed through narrow streets. Only a few locals managed to escape to olive orchards around Courine to take cover. Even all FSA fighters fled. Poorly armed they had no intention to fight battle tanks and helicopters pounding the village. Protecting civilians was no option anymore.
Several hours of random shelling of Courine was followed by thick columns of smoke rising. Even families outside hiding under evergreen olive trees were fired at by heavy artillery.
After the attackers had left the village by afternoon Courine´s face had changed. Soldiers and Shabiha thugs had looted shops, taken what they could carry from residential houses. A dozen houses were set on fire while others testified random shelling by big holes in walls. The school building was hit hardly by a grenate. A long blood trail curved up a hundred meters on a small alley surface. Villagers sneaked around to collect bodies. One man´s throat was widely slit, his clothes soaked with blood. Others were apparently shot in cold blood. A 10 year old boy suffered a fatal head injury caused by shrapnel. 35 men were reportedly taken into custody leaving their families behind in fear they may be tortured.
The day after thousand men gathered to lay the dead to rest. Groups of crying woman looked at it from rooftops and terraces. The procession became a massive protest against president Assad, passing a spot outside Courine where two of the dead were executed on a meadow. A big red blood puddle covered dry grass and a litte pice of human brain was still lying there exuding a strong smell of decomposition.
People of rural Idlib Province have joined the uprising at the very beginning of the revolution against Assad´s regime. Even fatal shootings at demonstrations and later shelling of rural villages coundn´t stop the population going ahead with their protest. Regime loyal troops surged through the region between February and April till a short truce got in effect. Vogt went in again in April and witnessed massive devastation all along his way in this strategical important area bordering Turkey.
But apart from crushed villages something else has changed: the people didn´t feel scared anymore. They simply lost their fear during the last weeks.
Supposed to photograph a story in the besieged town of Idlib he managed to get inside via a regular pounded road. He passed a farm house were seven handcuffed men were executed in cold blood hours before.
For his safety he stayed overnight outside Idlib in the village of Courine. A misinterpretation! When hundreds of kids actually went to school in the early morning troops attacked Courine. Shells exploded and gun shots slashed through narrow streets. Only a few locals managed to escape to olive orchards around Courine to take cover. Even all FSA fighters fled. Poorly armed they had no intention to fight battle tanks and helicopters pounding the village. Protecting civilians was no option anymore.
Several hours of random shelling of Courine was followed by thick columns of smoke rising. Even families outside hiding under evergreen olive trees were fired at by heavy artillery.
After the attackers had left the village by afternoon Courine´s face had changed. Soldiers and Shabiha thugs had looted shops, taken what they could carry from residential houses. A dozen houses were set on fire while others testified random shelling by big holes in walls. The school building was hit hardly by a grenate. A long blood trail curved up a hundred meters on a small alley surface. Villagers sneaked around to collect bodies. One man´s throat was widely slit, his clothes soaked with blood. Others were apparently shot in cold blood. A 10 year old boy suffered a fatal head injury caused by shrapnel. 35 men were reportedly taken into custody leaving their families behind in fear they may be tortured.
The day after thousand men gathered to lay the dead to rest. Groups of crying woman looked at it from rooftops and terraces. The procession became a massive protest against president Assad, passing a spot outside Courine where two of the dead were executed on a meadow. A big red blood puddle covered dry grass and a litte pice of human brain was still lying there exuding a strong smell of decomposition.
People of rural Idlib Province have joined the uprising at the very beginning of the revolution against Assad´s regime. Even fatal shootings at demonstrations and later shelling of rural villages coundn´t stop the population going ahead with their protest. Regime loyal troops surged through the region between February and April till a short truce got in effect. Vogt went in again in April and witnessed massive devastation all along his way in this strategical important area bordering Turkey.
But apart from crushed villages something else has changed: the people didn´t feel scared anymore. They simply lost their fear during the last weeks.
