Battle of Taftanaz

Battle of Taftanaz
	Part of April 2012 Idlib Governorate Operation (the early insurgency phase of the Syrian civil war)
Date	11 February – 5 April 2012; (1 month, 3 weeks and 4 days)
Location	Taftanaz, Idlib Governorate, Syria35°59′49″N 36°47′12″E / 35.9969°N 36.7866°E
Result	Syrian Army victory
Belligerents
Free Syrian Army Suqour al-Sham Liwa Dawud; ;	Syrian Arab Republic Syrian Army;
Commanders and leaders
Hassan Aboud; Abu Ali Bard	Unknown
Strength
Unknown	1st Armoured Division 76th Armoured Brigade; 300 soldiers, 50 tanks
Casualties and losses
Unknown	9 tanks
	120 killed in total (opposition claim)
	class=notpageimage\| Location within Syria

The Battle of Taftanaz started on February 11, 2012, in Idlib Governorate, between anti-government fighters and Syrian Arab Army troops participating in a nationwide crackdown on dissent against Bashar Assad's government. Heavy fighting took place on the outskirts of the town of Taftanaz, killing 20 people.^[6]^[7] On the day of the battle Kofi Annan announced a cease-fire for the Syrian conflict.

By 5 April, the military captured Taftanaz's city center, which was defended by 200 armed rebels, after a two-hour battle, following which the army reportedly rounded up and executed 82 people. It was unknown how many were opposition fighters and how many were civilians.^[8]

Two months after, it was called a "massacre" in the town of Taftanaz, two-thirds of the population had left. The town had been a centre for opposition protests until the army had raided it with tanks on 3 April. Witnesses in the town said that tanks shelled the town from four sides before armored cars brought in dozens of soldiers who dragged civilians from their homes and gunned them down in the streets, and they also claimed that the soldiers looted, destroyed and torched hundreds of homes, bringing some down on their owners' heads. Videos showed this, and 62 people were killed during the attack, despite the town only having a small rebel presence. Nine Syrian Arab Army tanks were destroyed by homemade bombs as they left the town.^[4]

References

^ "July 2014 Briefs".
^ Abouzeid, Rania (July 26, 2012). "Time Exclusive: Meet the Islamist Militants Fighting Alongside Syria's Rebels". Time.
^ "Spiegel Reports From Inside the Syria's Idlib Province". Der Spiegel. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Article no longer available". Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
^ Refugee flow quickens as Syrian deadline approaches Archived April 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Fierce attacks across Syria leave 101 dead; Annan sets to address U.N. On crisis". Archived from the original on 2012-04-16. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
^ Syria violence kills 80
^ "Survivors tell of bloody aftermath to fight in Taftanaz, Syria". miamiherald. Retrieved 8 May 2016.

External links

In Cold Blood, Human Rights Watch, 10 April 2012.
They Burned My Heart, Human Rights Watch, 3 May 2012.

[1] "July 2014 Briefs".

[2] Abouzeid, Rania (July 26, 2012). "Time Exclusive: Meet the Islamist Militants Fighting Alongside Syria's Rebels". Time.

[3] "Spiegel Reports From Inside the Syria's Idlib Province". Der Spiegel. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2016.

[O-4] "Article no longer available". Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.

[Dawn-5] Refugee flow quickens as Syrian deadline approaches Archived April 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

[aa0304-6] "Fierce attacks across Syria leave 101 dead; Annan sets to address U.N. On crisis". Archived from the original on 2012-04-16. Retrieved 2012-04-04.

[itimes-7] Syria violence kills 80

[8] "Survivors tell of bloody aftermath to fight in Taftanaz, Syria". miamiherald. Retrieved 8 May 2016.

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