The following open letter was published by activists in Khan Sheikhon on behalf of the residents of the town. A copy of the original Arabic can be found here.

We, the residents of Khan Sheikhon, are outraged at what we found written in the latest UNSMIS report about the events that transpired in our town on May 15, 2011. We view the text as deeply insulting to the many people who have lost their lives on that horrible day.

On May 15, the residents of Khan Sheikhon were attending the funeral of Ahmad Fetrawi. A UN convoy unexpectedly arrived in town just as we had finished the burial. The funeral turned into a massive protest as more residents joined the crowd that was surrounding the UN cars. Then disaster struck. The security forces, army, and Shabbiha who occupy the city’s medical center opened fire directly on the protesters. The monitors fled the scene immediately. As the residents rushed to their help, a bomb exploded in the lead car. In total, 36 people were martyred and more than 70 were injured.

With their vehicles damaged, and the UN refusing to send other cars to collect them, the monitors were stranded in Khan Sheikhon. We generously provided the team with food and shelter until the UN was ready to retrieve them the next day. Regime-controlled media falsely accused us of kidnapping the monitors. The monitors, who were staying in our houses, offered us promises to counter the regime’s false allegations promptly.

We cannot describe the shock and sense of betrayal that we felt upon seeing the latest UNSMIS which was submitted to the Security Council on May 25. The report said, and we quote:

“On 15 May 2012 in Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib Governorate, a bomb explosion and direct fire struck an UNSMIS convoy of four vehicles, damaging three. There were no casualties, but one vehicle was lost until its recovery on 21 May 2012.”

36 people died! They are our parents, our children, and our siblings. They are our friends and our neighbors. They died right in front of the eyes of the UN monitors. Did they forget all the blood they witnessed being shed that day? Did they think we will forget?

We are severely dismayed with UNSMIS and ask that the mission re-evaluates its attitude towards Syrian activists. We are still waiting for the UN delegation to counter the regime’s absurd allegations that we kidnapped the monitors.

How can we trust Kofi Annan’s mission if the monitors continuously ignore the state-perpetrated violence against us? How can we trust a mission that values its own cars more than the lives of our loved ones.

We ask UNSMIS to promptly to fulfill its promises and to issue a new report clarifying the full details of the events that transpired in Khan Sheikhon on May 15 in the presence of UN monitors.

(signed)

The Residents of Khan Sheikhon on behalf of the 36 people who were martyred on May 15, 2011:

1-      Fouad Najem
2-      AbdelKarin Maarati
3-      Ahmad Jihad Hisso
4-      Nuhad Maar Zitawi
5-      Walid Hussein Qadah
6-      Ali Haj Yassin
7-      Fateh Idriss
8-      Ahmad Offan
9-      Adnan Marwan basbous
10-   AbdelHadi Skheita
11-   AbdelKarim Haj Ali
12-   Malek Abdallah Najem
13-   Omar Talal Najem
14-   Ahmad AlKhani
15-   Abdallah AlHindawi
16-   Mohammad AlShoeib
17-   Ahmad Ziad Taan
18-   Hussein Mohammad AlTaan
19-   Mahmoud Mohammad Sarmani
20-   Mohammad Laurence AlSoeidi
21-   Wissam Hayyan AlSaleh
22-   Qais Khattab
23-   Masaab AlMirii
24-   Baraa Amer AlSarmani
25-   Ibrahim Khaled AlNajjar
26-   Mohammad Abdelrahman AlSafar
27-   Youssef Hasan Bakkour
28-   Najem Ahmad Najem
29-   AbdelKarim Bisirini
30-   AbdelMajeed Nidal Salloum AlAbed
31-   Anas AlMadbouh
32-   Ahmad Fetrawi
33-   Ahmad Nizam Bakri
34-   Mohammad Nawaf AlZidan
35-   AbdelHamid Idqa
36-   Mounzer AlMasri