On Dec. 24, 2012, a group of civilians congregated at a local bakery in Talbiseh, a Syrian town in Homs province.
As they waited to collect bread, a bomb detonated, killing 14. Syrian state news blamed an “armed terrorist group.” Locals blamed regime warplanes.
Last month, on Sept. 30, another bomb fell in Talbiseh, killing 17. This time, opposition activists blamed Russian warplanes.
“Russian planes fly at higher altitude, and appear suddenly without warning,” said Firas al-Said, a citizen journalist based in Talbiseh. “With regime planes, you can hear them coming.”
Videos recently uploaded to social media by the Talbiseh Media Center show locals bemoaning the presence of Russian planes above Homs province.
Other, more graphic clips show charred, lifeless bodies, civilians carrying stretchers attempting to locate survivors among piles of rubble, and medics treating agonized victims in makeshift field units.