海角大神

The Syrian rebel fighter says he has racked up 49 enemy kills so far 鈥撀爊early half of them government army snipers, the rest pro-regime聽shabiha聽militiamen and ordinary soldiers.聽

But the words 鈥渉ope,鈥� 鈥渧ictory,鈥� and 鈥減rogress鈥澛爈eft the vocabulary of Abu Omar聽long ago.聽

鈥淚鈥檓 not happy to kill. It鈥檚 not natural,鈥� says the former Syrian special forces fighter who defected to the rebels last year and is now fighting in northern Syria. 海角大神 first met Abu Omar聽on the front line last July, as a government assault began on the rebel-held enclave of Salaheddin in Aleppo.

鈥淎ll during my life, I did not kill people,鈥� says Abu Omar. 鈥淏ut if I don鈥檛, [pro-regime forces] will kill more women and children. We need to stop them.鈥�

Abu Omar has indeed done his share of 鈥渟topping鈥� them, and his rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) 鈥� along with a number of anti-regime Islamist fighting groups, who are sometimes聽all聽at odds among themselves 鈥� have made substantial territorial gains in the past year.

But Abu Omar is tired. He yearns for a better, more peaceful life and complains that abandonment by the US and Europe and lack of significant military support has turned Syria into a wasteland of destruction and hatred that has little future. Last month,聽Syria鈥檚 vicious civil war entered its third year, with well over 70,000 dead and no end in sight.

鈥淚t鈥檚 terrible, there are a lot of places destroyed: Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Deraa鈥�we don鈥檛 know what we will do after the revolution, after so many people have died, so many children have died,鈥� says Abu Omar.

鈥淎ll the world, it wants Syria destroyed. It鈥檚 a perfect position for all the world,鈥� says Abu Omar.

Yesterday five United Nations agencies warned聽of an 鈥渋nsufficient sense of urgency among the governments and parties that could put a stop to the cruelty and carnage in聽Syria," in an uncommon joint statement.聽

The chiefs of UN humanitarian efforts, the World Food Programme, and the UN鈥檚 refugee, child, and health agencies spoke 鈥渋n the name of all those who have so suffered, and the many more whose futures hang in the balance: Enough! Summon and use your influence, now, to save the Syrian people and save the region from disaster.鈥�

No longer dreaming of Paradise

Abu Omar says that on the ground, the despair is palpable. The fight has turned into a war of attrition between the large and largely intact Syrian armed forces against the far less well-armed rebels. Government bombing, artillery, and even Scud missile attacks have laid waste to entire towns and portions of major cities. Much military hardware captured by the rebels is unusable junk.聽Accusations of abuse of civilians by rebels have also been documented.聽

It鈥檚 a far cry from the relative hope that still prevailed earlier last year, when Abu Omar first defected from his special forces unit to protest orders to fire on anti-regime protesters.

鈥淭hey gave us orders to kill the people who don鈥檛 have a gun, but who just went out of their homes and shouted 鈥榝reedom,鈥欌�� Abu Omar told the Monitor in Aleppo last July. 鈥淭here were girls and little boys killed. I was just shooting in the sky. If we don鈥檛 shoot, they take us to jail, or kill us there.鈥�

Abu Omar then joined the FSA as rebels repulsed that first July 2012 government assault on聽the rebel-held enclave in聽Aleppo. That attack initiated a battle that has ground on, destroying much of Syria鈥檚 northern economic hub city.

Abu Omar had recounted one of his first kills, of a government soldier hiding between stones who kept firing, despite rebel calls to surrender and stay alive. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to shoot him,鈥澛�Abu Omar said at the time. 鈥淏ut he still kept shooting, so I shot him and he went down.鈥澛�

Despite the evident imbalance of forces, and limited rebel gains back then, Abu Omar felt the rebel forces were on a just mission that would end in victory and the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, sooner rather than later.

鈥淚f someone from the Free Army dies, we don鈥檛 get sad,鈥� Abu Omar said last July. 鈥淔or sure they are in Paradise.鈥�

'I need that sniper rifle to see who I kill'

Yet despite that optimism, even as rebels received some fresh-from-the-box light weaponry for that Aleppo fight 鈥撀爎ifles and ammunition,聽rocket-propelled grenades, and heavier machine guns 颅鈥� Abu Omar echoed FSA commanders, when he pleaded for 鈥渨eapons, more weapons, from any country.鈥�

That plea has remained constant, as rebel forces of all stripes have called for more sophisticated arms; especially anti-aircraft weaponry that might help prevent Syrian planes and helicopters from dropping bombs unchallenged.

Washington and other Western capitals 鈥� while reportedly assisting in supplying light weapons to rebels organized by Qatar and Saudi Arabia, sent via Turkey and Jordan 鈥� are afraid such arms might fall into the hands of Islamists.

鈥淭hey are thinking about sending weapons, but they send nothing,鈥� says Abu Omar of Western promises of support. 鈥�100,000 die in Syria and for what, for lack of weapons?鈥�

Abu Omar says a high quality sniper rifle would 鈥渋nspire鈥� him to stick with the fight, though neither side has the .50-caliber models he wants 鈥� the British AS50, or the American-made M107.

鈥淚 have asked 1,000 times, but they don鈥檛 bring it,鈥� says Abu Omar. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a disaster. I鈥檓 only one person, if I leave or not does not make a difference. But if they bring [one of these] sniper rifles, I聽will聽make a difference.

鈥淚 need that sniper rifle to see who I kill, to see if it is an officer or an ordinary soldier,鈥� says Abu Omar. 鈥淚f I kill the commanders of [government] units, it will make a big difference.鈥�

Only then, with more and better weapons, will the rebels finish Mr. Assad and 鈥渆nd this situation,鈥� adds Abu Omar. 鈥淟et God end this soon.鈥�