On August 8, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) discovered a large stash of weapons in the newly liberated area of Houla in the northern Homs countryside, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
The SANA’s reporter in the governorate of Homs said that the weapons included heavy machineguns, heavy caliber snipers, mortar rounds, rocket-propelled grenades and “Israeli-made” hand grenades.
Furthermore, the weapons’ photos show at least one Soviet-designed Konkurs anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) and a Yugoslav-made M79 Osa portable 90 mm anti-tank weapon launcher with several rounds. These advance weapons were likely supplied by the U.S. and Gulf states such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia in the early years of the Syrian crisis.
Click to see full-size image, By SANA
Click to see full-size image, By SANA
Hula joined the reconciliation process along with several other areas in the northern Homs countryside after reaching an agreement with the Damascus government on May 2. Under the agreement, all weapons in northern Homs had to be handed over to the SAA.
These remaining weapons are a violation of the reconciliation agreement, and were likely left behind by cells of radical groups such as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). However, this discovery will not likely effect the reconciliation process in the northern Homs countryside.
Photos of the weapons discovered by the SAA:
Click to see full-size image, By SANA
Click to see full-size image, By SANA
Click to see full-size image, By SANA
Click to see full-size image, By SANA
