Saturday 16 March 2013

Croatian Weapons Arrive In Homs

When Croatian weapons, provided by Saudi Arabia, first appeared a number of people noted that while the weapons had been sighted in Daraa, Idlib, Aleppo, and Deir Ez Zor, they hadn't appeared in Homs, the scene of months of fighting.  Now, for the first time, these weapons have started to appear in the Homs region.  The first video shows a M79 Osa rocket launcher being used by opposition fighters in Baba Amr, Homs, south-west of the city centre


This next video shows a RBG-6 grenade launcher in Al Khaldiyah, Homs, north of the city centre, being used by a new group, Katiba al-Samoud - Janud Allah, which appears to be aligned with the FSA 


Here we see a RPG-22 being used by what appears to be the same group in the above video at an unknown location in Homs


This final video shows a M60 recoilless gun being used at near the Lebanese border, near Al Qusayr, south-west of Homs


All four videos were posted in that last two days, and I've been unable to find earlier videos showing Croatian weapons in the Homs region, so it appears these are all new arrivals in the Homs region, and it will be interesting if these weapons have the same significant effect in Homs as they've had in Daraa.


Related Articles
More Videos Of Croatian Weapons With Non-FSA Islamists, Salafists, and Jihadi
Video Shows Non-FSA Jihadists Ahrar al-Sham Using Croatian Weapons
More Background On Croatian Weapons In Syria
Foreign Smuggled Weapons Spread Northwards Into Syria
Youtube playlist - M79 Osa Sightings in Syria
Youtube playlist - M60 Recoilless Gun Sightings in Syria
Youtube playlist - RBG-6 Sightings in Syria
Youtube playlist - RPG-22 Sightings in Syria

You can contact the author on Twitter @brown_moses or by email at brownmoses@gmail.com


2 comments:

  1. "if these weapons have the same significant effect in Homs as they've had in Daraa."

    Those of us uninitiated, you could describe what happened in Daraa? I could go on and seek for other posts from Daraa, but lazily I now assume it has tipped the balance in favor of FSA groups; or perhaps it set the FSA groups on equal footing with regime in area? Thus not really changing the balance.

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    1. The situation in Daraa was quite different from the situation in Aleppo, Idlib, and Deir Ez Zor where opposition groups were capturing increasing numbers of military bases and using the captured equipment (including tanks, artillery, and AA weapons) to capture more bases and territory. In Daraa the opposition fighters were more poorly armed, relying on more basic equipment, and not capturing significant amounts of weapons.

      The newly acquired Croatian weapons have allowed the opposition groups in Daraa to start capturing bases and heavier equipment, and this will allow them to capture larger bases.

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