Syria Video and Analysis: The Free Syria Army Counter-Attacks in Homs

See also Syria Video Special: Friday's Protests Across the Country
Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: What Will Happen With Today's Protests?

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UPDATED

Update: 1842 GMT: Another massively important video from Syria. Reportedly taken today in Tafas, Daraa (MAP), the video starts with a familiar scene. People, hiding in side streets, chant protest slogans as the army deploys down the street towards the peaceful protests. This is where the scene develops, as the army advances too close, or as it opens fire (unclear who fires first), the cameraman scans down to reveal a defected soldier taking position. The defectors then open fire on the army, literally "protecting the protesters" as they have pledged:

Is this the future of "peaceful" protests in Syria? Protests that start peaceful but, when attacked, fight back?

The original article is below:

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A significant video from Syria --- activists claim that the footage shows an attack today by the insurgent Free Syrian Army regime forces in the Bab Amro section of Homs. A regime tank appears to suffer a direct hit:

Scott Lucas started the day on our LiveBlog by asking whether the FSA, which has carried out a series of daring attacks on Assad's military infrastructure this week and is rapidly gaining strength, would protect protesters. Indeed, would they engage the Syrian security forces, disrupting the crackdown and further escalating violence?

This video appears to offer an answer.

There is another potentially game-changing aspect of this clip. It shows that the FSA has some heavier arms, capable of knocking out regime tanks, and it indicates that they have enough strength to break through the military lines and launch a successful attack against an armoured division.

This is hardly a military turning point. But, as of last week, the FSA had not launched a single high-profile attack. Now they have carried out at least three successful assaults in Harasta, Idlib, and Homs. At the very least, the Free Syrian Army has proven that Assad, his supporters, and his military are far less safe than ever before.