The Local Coordination Committees: Special Report
Rastan: A Family’s Sacrifices – Martyrs at the Hands of the Regime

There are no limits to the regime’s crimes – it spares neither the elderly nor the young children in its vengeful actions, even if dozens of members of the same family are killed. This was the case with the Al-Ashtar family in the city of Rastan, just north of Homs, a flashpoint city in the Syrian Revolution from the outset.
Many members of the Al-Ashtar family have been arrested and killed, and several were displaced from their homes, which were occupied by the regime’s army and later by other regime operatives.
Mohamad Qassim Al-Ashtar, born in 1973, was arrested in April of last year. He is married, a father to seven children, and worked in the concrete molding industry.
Abdul Rahman Qassim Al-Ashtar, also married with seven children, was arrested from his workplace at the Fire Brigade in Homs on July 28, 2011. His son, Qassim Abdul Rahman Al-Ashtar, 15, was killed on October 6, 2011.
Hussein Qassim Al-Ashtar, born in 1961, was arrested on September 30, 2011. An Army officer, he was a Major and left behind a family of 10 with no breadwinner. On the same day, Major Al-Ashtar’s son Hazem, born in 1985, was arrested after having been shot in the stomach. The fate of both father and son remains unknown.
On the same day, Muslih Qassim Al-Ashtar was arrested from his workplace at the Homs Electric Company. He is married with four children.
Meanwhile, the Army occupied the home of Qassim Hussein Al-Ashtar, who is in his 90s. His sons Mounawar and Youssef are wanted by security forces, and have been in hiding for a long time, leaving behind families and children with no support.
The Army occupied the home of another son, Qassim Hassan Al-Ashtar, whose family has been displaced. He remains in hiding as he is wanted by security forces. He is married with five children. The Army occupied the home of Qassim Al-Ashtar’s brother, Mohamad Hussein Al-Ashtar, who is married with 14 children. One of his sons, Mohamad Khalil Al-Ashtar, was forced into hiding after he became wanted by security forces. His home was also occupied, and he was forced to leave behind a wife and five children. The Army occupied the homes of additional sons Abdel Malik (who has four children) and Khalil Mohamad (who has two children) Al-Ashtar. Their families have been displaced as well.
Hussein Hussein Al-Ashtar was forced to flee when Army forces came to occupy his home. He has 10 children, all of whom are wanted by security forces.
Meanwhile, the 15-year-old grandson of Qassim Al-Ashtar was subjected to arrest and severe torture that led to blindness in one eye. Another grandson was hit by a shell, which caused paralysis in his right hand. Yahya Al-Ashtar was wounded when two pieces of shrapnel struck him in the back and security forces shot him in the stomach just before arresting him. And 10-year-old Huda Al-Ashtar was injured when a tank shell hit her home; the shell destroyed 60% of her vision and caused a severe facial injury.
The above is based on testimony from the beginning of the Revolution to the present by seven members of the Al-Ashtar family in Homs. The tragedy of this family continues, as does their struggle for freedom despite the regime’s criminal behavior and brutality.
The Local Coordination Committees in Syria
January 17, 2012