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Goalkeeper turned rebel fighter dies in northwest Syria
BEIRUT, June 8, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A Syrian goalkeeper turner rebel fighter
who starred in an award-winning documentary died Saturday of wounds sustained
fighting regime forces in northwestern Syria, his faction and a war monitor
said.
Abdel-Basset al-Sarout, 27, was a goalkeeper from the central city of
Homs, who became its most popular singer of protest songs after the Syrian
uprising broke out in March 2011.
Following a brutal government crackdown on peaceful protests, he took up
arms against the forces of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Sarout starred in the documentary “Return to Homs” by Syrian director
Talal Derki, which tracked his evolution from protest leader to fighter, and
won a top prize at the Sundance film festival in 2014.
Jameel al-Saleh, the commander of the rebel faction Jaish al-Izza,
announced Sarout’s death in a message on Twitter, describing him as a
“martyr” who died “fighting for the sake of God”.
The message was accompanied by a video showing Sarout singing “We will be
back, Homs”.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sarout was wounded in clashes
in the northern Hama countryside in the night of Thursday to Friday while
fighting in the ranks of Jaish al-Izza.
“He died of his wounds on Saturday,” the head of the Britain-based
Observatory, Rami Abdel Rahman, said.
Sarout was evacuated from Homs in 2014 under a surrender deal with the
regime to end a two-year siege of its historical centre, according to the
Observatory.
His father and four of his siblings were killed during bombardment and
clashes in Homs, it said.
– ‘Goalkeeper, bard’ and fighter –
On Saturday, Syrian activists and opposition figures took to Twitter to
mourn the loss of the footballer turned fighter.
“The goalkeeper of freedom, the icon of Homs, the bard of the squares, the
unforgettable sound of the Syrian revolution has been martyred,” researcher
and opposition supporter Ahmad Abazeed said.
Hadi al-Bahra, a member of the opposition Syrian Negotiations Commission,
posted: “Sarout will remain alive.”
“He died hoping to realise the dreams of Syrians,” he added.
Sarout was wounded in the push to take the village of Tal Maleh from
regime forces, the Observatory said.
The village lies on the southwestern edge of the Idlib region, which is
dominated by an alliance led by Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat
Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Almost half of the region’s three million residents have been displaced
from other parts of the war-torn country, including after deals to return
government control to those areas.
Late Thursday, HTS and rebel allies launched a counterattack against
government forces in the north of Hama province, after weeks of deadly regime
bombardment on the Idlib region.
More than 100 fighters have since been killed, according to the
Observatory.
The Idlib region is supposed to be protected by a months-old buffer zone
deal, but the regime and its Russian ally have ramped up air strikes and
rocket fire on the area since late April.
More than 300 civilians have been killed in that bombardment, according to
the Observatory, and the United Nations says the violence has forced 270,000
people to flee their homes.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1825 hrs