Battered But Unbowed: Al-Rastan's Last Residents Hold Out Against Syrian Army

July 26, 2012 from CNN

WARNING: Graphic Content. The town of Al-Rastan in Homs Governorate was once home to 55,000 people. After relentless attacks by regime forces stationed on the outskirts, only a few thousand remain, suffering severe shortages and the constant threat of mortars and artillery shells. But the rebels who control the town are determined to resist the Syrian army's superior firepower with whatever weapons they can find. CNN's Diana Magnay reports.

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al-Rastan

Al-Rastan is the third largest city in the Homs Governorate, located 25 kilometers north of its administrative capital Homs and 22 kilometers from Hama. Nearby localities include Talbiseh and al-Ghantu to the south, al-Zaafaraniyah and al-Mashrafah to the southeast, Murayj al-... Explore this topic

Syrian Civil War

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were pa... Explore this topic

Free Syrian Army

The Free Syrian Army is an armed opposition structure operating in Syria during the Syrian civil war. Composed of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel and volunteers, its formation was announced on 29 July 2011 in a video released on the internet by a uniformed group of dese... Explore this topic

Civilian casualties

Civilian casualties is a military term describing civilian or non-combatant persons killed, injured, or imprisoned by military action. The description of civilian casualties includes any form of military action regardless of whether civilians were targeted directly. This diffe... Explore this topic

Syrian army

The Syrian Army, officially the Syrian Arab Army, is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the senior most posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 per... Explore this topic

Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, i... Explore this topic

Artillery

Artillery is a weapon of war that operates by projection of munitions far beyond the effective range of personal weapons. Artillery comprise specialised devices which use some form of stored energy to operate, whether mechanical, chemical, or electromagnetic. Originally design... Explore this topic

Improvised explosive device

An improvised explosive device is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery round, attached to a detonating mechanism. Roadside bombs are a common... Explore this topic

Mortar (weapon)

A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber. Explore this topic

Attack helicopter

An attack helicopter is a military helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the capability of engaging targets on the ground, such as enemy infantry and armored vehicles. Due to their heavy armament they are sometimes called helicopter gunships. Weapons use... Explore this topic

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al-Rastan

Syrian Civil War

Free Syrian Army

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