Free Syrian Army withdraws from Idlib. Desertions including 7 generals. Syrians speak.

[tabatha]

Free Syrian Army withdraws from Idlib
http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2012/03/201231581226274911.html
According to reports coming out of Idlib, the Free Syrian Army fighters have withdrawn from the besieged Northern Syrian city. They say they want to avoid reprisal attacks. (Interesting comments about weapons)

Syria Loses 20,000 Troops as Desertions Surge, Turkey Says
About 20,000 Syrian soldiers have deserted from President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in less than a month, according to Turkish intelligence reports cited by a Foreign Ministry official.

The desertions are in addition to 40,000 military personnel who left before Feb. 20, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with government rules. The Syrian armed forces have a strength of 295,000 active personnel, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ 2012
They have been at the forefront of Assad’s bid to stamp out the yearlong uprising, which yesterday resulted in the seizure of the rebel-held city of Idlib. Some of the soldiers are joining the opposition Free Syrian Army, whose commanders reside in Turkish refugee camps.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-15/syria-loses-20-000-troops-as-deserters-flee-turkey-says-1-.html

Defection Live Blog
4 hours 51 min ago - Syria
Turkey's foreign ministry has confirmed that the country is hosting seven defected Syrian generals in addition to more than 14,000 refugees.
Spokesman Selcuk Unal told reporters in Ankara on Thursday that roughly 1,000 Syrians had crossed the border to Turkey in the past 24 hours, including one of the generals.
In Sanliurfa province, near the halfway point of Turkey's 910-kilometre border with Syria, Turkey has already started building a massive camp site that can house up to 20,000 people, Anatolia news agency reported Wednesday.
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/defection

One year on: Syrians speak about uprising (Interactive map with the comments of Syrians from different places)
Cross-section of Syrians share their thoughts on the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2012/03/2012315527913540.html

Child survives family massacr - Arwa Damon
Added On March 14, 2012
In Syria, a rescue operation to retrieve corpses of a massacred family turns up a child who survived. Arwa Damon reports.
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2012/03/14/pkg-damon-syria-only-one-survivor.cnn?iref=allsearch

[al bupp]

1. Nice work, Tabatha, thanks for the update /nt