[ad_1]
BEIRUT – A Syrian football goalkeeper, the emblem of the rebellion against President Bashar Assad, has died as a result of injuries suffered in a battle against government forces, the rebels said on Saturday.
Abdelbaset Sarout, 27, has made himself known as a player from his hometown, Homs, and has won international titles representing his country. When peaceful protests erupted against Assad in 2011, Sarout led rallies and made himself known as the "singer of the revolution" for his songs and ballads.
After the Syrian uprising, Sarout took up arms while the country was plunged into civil war. He led a unit of fighters against government forces and survived the government headquarters in Homs. The government declared Sarout a traitor, banning him from football and offering a reward for the information that led to his arrest.
He remained an icon among Syrian opponents as the rebellion ended up being dominated by extremist Islamist groups. Many activists and rebels have come to call him "guardian of freedom", an Arabic word game that refers to the goalkeeper.
"It was both a popular figure guiding the rebellion and a military commander," said Major Jamil al-Saleh, leader of the rebel group Jaish al-Izza, in which Sarout was commander. "His martyrdom will inspire us to continue in the way he has chosen and to which he has sacrificed his soul and blood."
Fighting intensified in northwestern Syria, the last major rebel stronghold since April. More than 300 people have died and 300,000 have been displaced as troops have entered the rebel enclave.
Cpt. Mustafa Maarati, spokesman for Jaish al-Izza, said Sarut died from wounds sustained two days earlier during fighting in the northern province of Hama. Maarati said he was injured in the leg, stomach and hand and died at the hospital in Turkey. Turkey supports the Syrian opposition.
Sarout was one of hundreds of rebel fighters who were evacuated from Homs in 2014 after a suffocating government siege ended with a capitulation agreement and ceasefire. Two of his brothers died in the battle of Homs. Two other brothers and his father were killed earlier in the war.
In Jaish al-Izza, he led a unit named after his hometown. He repeatedly denounced internal conflicts between rebels and called on Syrians to unite against government forces.
In a recording in 2015, Sarut denied joining one of the radical groups that multiplied in Homs and northern Syria as the war dragged on. But like many rebels, he adopted more religious references in online videos after first focusing on nationalist themes. He had recently appeared in a video of Hama saying that he would fight as if it were his home town.
[ad_2]
Source link