It is the seventh massacre of this kind, we have documented

[tabatha]

Hula includes a number of Sunni villages. For several months, the region was under control of the army outside of Syria. When the offensive began on Friday, the rebels are to the center left to the army checkpoint on the outskirts of the attack. The surrounding area is predominantly populated by Alawites, a religious minority, which also includes the Assad clan. The protest movement, however, is how the total population, Sunni dominated. After assessment of human rights activist Wissam rate is therefore no accident that happened in Hula, "It is the seventh massacre of this kind, we have documented," he says. "They always happen in areas where a Sunni minority Alawite living with a majority together. These massacres are government policy, which aims to clear the Sunni communities."

Hula is now almost deserted and about 80 percent of the residents to have fled. For similar attacks for 13 quarters of the city of Homs are nearly empty, said Wissam tariff. At the same time the rebellion threatened in a war between religions turn over. Many activists believe that the regime of hatred between the religious communities deliberately foments. Views on the Internet to make the rounds murders of Alawites. "We lived together for decades. But we have felt for some time that something would happen," says Abu Dschaafar. "We knew they would do something to us as soon as they have the opportunity."

http://www.taz.de/1/archiv/digitaz/artikel/?ressort=a2&dig=2012%2F05%2F29%2Fa0039&cHash=ec84126732

There was a question why Assad would do this. This is an explanation.

[leveymg]

1. Do you still deny this is essentially a religious war? You used to.

Sounds like your thinking has begun to come around to accept that as a possibility, even if you haven't yet grasped the implications of regime change: genocide.

The more pressure is imposed by the Saudis and outside Sunni forces, the worse the violence is going to become. I've been trying to tell you that from the beginning.

[tabatha]

2. You are one of the fuzziest thinkers I have ever encountered.

And most personal. Keep me and my thinking out of this, because you have no idea what I am thinking.

First - this is a report. Not my thinking.

Second - another poster stated that Assad would never have done anything like this massacre, because how could he benefit? This is an opinion by the author that there could be a reason. He also cites other occasions when this happened.

Third - nothing is ever black and white. This uprising started when Assad jailed kids for writing graffiti against his rule. There are thousands of people who just want the opportunity to have a voice in the government of their OWN country. They are from all sects, Sunni, Alawite, Druze, Christian, etc.

Fourth - Assad is the one who has been trying to fan the flames of sectarianism. Assad is the one who has been killing large numbers of the opposition.

Fifth - Regime change will result in genocide? when the regime is committing genocide? Good grief. Learn some basic logic.

EDIT
Here are some facts and figures:

Syrians killed: 15,344
Children killed: 1,128
Females killed: 1,066
Soldiers killed: 1,272
Protestors killed under torture: 613
Missing: +65,000
Protestors currently incarcerated: +212,000
Syrian refugees since March: +168,564
Refugees in Turkey: 24,564
Refugees in Lebanon: +24,000
Refugees in Jordan: +120,000

About 30,000 soldiers have defected. Why would they do that?

[leveymg]

3. You are a single-issue poster. A propagandist.

Your M.O. is to post raw propaganda from opposition foreign language web sites without analyzing it or comparing it with other sources. Much of it has been shown to be disinformation or misinformation.

For instance, the casualty figures you posted above as fact are taken from an Arabic language Kurdish site, http://shababkurd.wordpress.com/2012/05/28/hama/ I can not find those numbers repeated elsewhere or verify their origin. While the overall number of killed is similar, the Wiki drawn from various official sources shows a different breakdown of casualties:

According to various sources, including the United Nations,
up to 13,000–18,700 people have been killed, of which about half were civilians,
but also including 5,860–6,470 armed combatants from both sides and up to 1,400 opposition protesters.[40][48][49][50][30]
Many more have been injured, and tens of thousands of protesters have been imprisoned.
According to the Syrian government, 9,710–10,046 people,
including 3,090–3,360 members of the security forces,
2,775–3,115 insurgents and up to 3,600 civilians, have been killed in fighting with what they characterize as "armed terrorist groups".[39]
To escape the violence, tens of thousands of Syrian refugees have fled the country to neighboring Jordan and [51] Lebanon, as well to Turkey.[52] The total official UN numbers of Syrian refugees reached 42,000 at the time,[53] while unofficial number stood at as many as 130,000.

UNICEF reported that over 500 children have been killed,[54][55] Another 400 children have been reportedly arrested and tortured in Syrian prisons.[56][57] Both claims have been contested by the Syrian government.[58]
Additionally, over 600 detainees and political prisoners have died under torture.[59]

You rarely engage directly on issues with those who try to have dialogue with you on this community site. When challenged, you are often hostile, rude, and personal in your attacks, as you have been again, above.

[HiPointDem]

4. +1.

[redgreenandblue]

5. And not the only one that is active on this site.

[Poll_Blind]

6. +1

PB

[Iterate]

7. Thanks tabatha for keeping us updated.

It's almost like a useful shorthand or trick for quick forum scanning, but in general I've noticed the quicker the attacks on you turn personal, the more worthwhile the article you have cited.