Syria

Daily Mail:

Is Syria torturing babies to death now? Country's darkest secrets leaked online in world's first YouTube war
Hundreds of videos uploaded to YouTube by protesters each day
Syrian Revolution General Commission preparing for regime change

By Lee Moran

These are the videos that Syrian President Bashar Assad does not want the world to see.

The lifeless corpse of four-month-old Afaf Mahmmod Al-Sarakb lies limp and motionless in a chair - tortured to death by government security officers after her parents were arrested.

The disfigured body of a tortured taxi driver is seen dumped in the street, while a third video shows blood pouring from the arm of a woman gunned down by a sniper.

GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: Scroll down for video...

Tortured to death: Four-month-old Afaf Mahmmod Al-Sarakb was killed by Syrian security forces after her parents were arrested

Anger: What life is really like in Syria is being released in a series of videos, day by day, on YouTube

In just 24 hours anti-government protesters have defied strict censorship laws more than 110 times to publish the series of brutal and shocking videos on YouTube.

Hundreds more hours of the brutal scenes have been released in the last two months.

They all show a country which has slowly descended into chaos - sparking fears there will be a civil war and floods of refugees fleeing across the border into Israel.

It is in stark contrast to the kind of society Assad's regime tries to portray - one where there are small pockets of unrest, but in the majority are happy with his rule.

While none of the footage has been independently verified, the content is so compelling and realistic that there is little reason to doubt its veracity.

The release of the videos mirrors those leaked during the Libyan conflict, the most gruesome of which showed the capture of ousted leader Colonel Muammar Gaddaafi. They were ultimately proved to be real.

Battered: A video of this Syrian showed how his back had been torn to shreds after a series of torture sessions by security forces

Wounded: One of the many videos being released each day showed a woman screaming in pain as blood drips from her arm after she was shot by a sniper

But, while Libyan rebels tentatively dipped their toes into the world of internet publishing, the Syrian conflict is widely regarded as the first YouTube war - where events are played out through its channels on an hourly, if not minute-by-minute, basis.

Much of the filming is being released on a daily basis via the Syrian Revolution General Commission, a coalition movement covering most of the country which, according to its Facebook page, is preparing for the overthrow of the regime.

In its coverage of yesterday's events the group, based out of the Turkish capital of Istanbul, chronicled attacks, murders, fake rallies of support and crackdowns in the northeastern province of Deir Ezzor, the northwestern city of Idlib, the western city of Hama, and the central city of Homs.

The 40-group strong coalition, which is playing an important role in highlighting the truth during the 10-month-old uprising against Assad, also alleged how security forces covered-up 'abuses' as the Arab League monitors visited various areas of the country.

To garner favour with observers, the SRGC said 'fabricated marches' in support of the regime took place in Deir Ezzor as they arrived.

Protest: There is also several videos containing footage of rallies which, according to President Assad, do not occur very frequently

Dead: Several of the videos show protesters who have allegedly been beaten to death by security forces

Security forces also 'curtained off' various areas of a jail containing political prisoners so monitors did not 'really see' what was going on.

The SRGC said it was all to shield observers, in Syria to see where Assad's troops are keeping their word on ending a violent and repressive crackdown, from what was happening.

And, elsewhere in the area and in complete contravention of that deal, security forces were seen opening fire on protesters, leading to large numbers of arrests.

In the Sahl Al-Ghab region, where electricity is cut off for 15 hours each day, it said security buses and army vehicles routinely roamed the streets raising weapons at residents.

In Jaer Al-Shoghour the sound of the security forces' heavy firing is constantly heard, Assad-sponsored gangs ran riot through Darkoush vandalising public property, and in Hama 28-year-old Nabhan Ahmad Al-Mustafa was shot dead while out with friends.

The increase in violence, and its release through the SRGC, comes as many believe Assad is losing his grip on power.

But despite foreign observers saying his rule could be coming to an end, he re-iterated today how he would not be stepping down.

He insisted he still had his people's support and repeated claims that a foreign conspiracy and terrorists were behind the 10-month-old uprising against him - and not true reform-seekers.