THE YOUTUBE WAR

摘要

In a conflict that has already yielded too many scenes of graphic horror, it takes a mere 27 seconds of video footage to plumb new depths of depravity. Posted on YouTube, the video opens with a rebel commander named Khalid al-Hamad, who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Sakkar, holding a knife as he bends over the body of a dead soldier. There's a gaping hole in the soldier's chest. First al-Hamad transfers what appears to be the dead man's heart onto a flat piece of plastic or metal lying on the soldier's stomach. Then he pulls what looks like a lung across the open cavity. He works his knife through the flesh of the dead man's torso for a few seconds before standing to face the camera, holding an organ in each hand. "I swear we will eat from your hearts and livers, you dogs of Bashar," he says, referring to supporters of Syria's President Bashar Assad. Off camera, a small crowd can be heard calling out "Allahu akbar," or "God is great." Then al-Hamad raises one of the bloodied organs to his lips and starts to tear off a chunk with his teeth.