Skip to main content


Her children killed by regime, Syrian mom becomes feared sniper

'I will not forget my children's blood . and I promise to take revenge'


Now known only as "Guevara," she was at one time a 36-year-old English teacher before her seven-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son were brutally killed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government forces. The tragedy galvanized her into becoming one of Aleppo's most feared frontline fighters, sniping government forces. "I will not forget my children's blood," she vows, "and I promise to take revenge."
  

'I like fighting. When I see that one of my friends in my katiba (rebel division) has been killed, I feel that I have to hold a weapon and take my revenge,' Guevera told British reporters.

'I like fighting. When I see that one of my friends in my katiba (rebel division) has been killed, I feel that I have to hold a weapon and take my revenge,' Guevera told British reporters.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Her two children were killed when a bomb fell on her home in Aleppo. Nicknamed "Guevara" after Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, the woman has become a shadowy fixture on the rooftops of Aleppo, Syria, where she aims her Belgian FN rifle at government troops.

Syria's largest city, Aleppo has become the epicenter of the country's civil war. Guevara is one of the few women firing a gun on the frontlines as the conflict rages.

"I like fighting. When I see that one of my friends in my katiba (rebel division) has been killed, I feel that I have to hold a weapon and take my revenge," she told British reporters.

The capital of Damascus, 93 miles from Aleppo, the dead bodies of more than 100 anti-government rebels, many of them college students, were found along the shore of Aleppo's Quweiq River. Guevara seems resigned to this grim new reality.

"I have seen more than 100 bodies in the last few months," Guevara says. "So many people were killed in shelling and airstrikes. And I have had many near misses. Once a bomb exploded nearby, wounding people who I was with in a car, and I thought 'oh my God, death is near.'"

The memory of her murdered children burns brightly enough to keep her fighting against Bashar's forces.

"My boy used to be frightened of the bombs and ask me what was happening. I said, 'My boy, I promise that I am going to defend your future.' Now, I will not forget my children's blood, and I promise to take revenge," Guevara said.

The United Nations estimated that 60,000 people had been killed in the bloody civil, which began in March 2011 following the brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters allied with the pro-democracy Arab Spring movement.

© 2013, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention:
The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Aleppo, Syria, mother, revenge, Bashar al-Assad, Damascus, rebels

NEWSLETTERS »

E-mail:       Zip Code: (ex. 90001)
Today's Headlines

Sign up for a roundup of the day's top stories. 5 days / week. See Sample

Rate This Article

Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All

Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested

Rate Article

1 - 2 of 2 Comments

  1. MS
    4 months ago

    So far, it seems the Christians are siding with Syria's government because the rebel forces are largely anti-Christian Islamists. The overthrow of Assad will mean the same bloody fate as those in Egypt.

  2. DarthJ
    4 months ago

    An Islamist who idealized a Communist and adapted his name? That's a first....

    That aside, these so called "democracies" of the "Arab Spring" will result in majority rule and the expulsion of Christians- as being played out in Egypt.

Leave a Comment

Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.

Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.

This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.

We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.

We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.

Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample

Post Comment


Newsletter Sign Up

Daily Readings

Reading 1, Second Corinthians 8:1-9
Next, brothers, we will tell you of the grace of God which has ... Read More

Psalm, Psalms 146:2, 5-6, 7, 8-9
I will praise Yahweh all my life, I will make music to my God ... Read More

Gospel, Matthew 5:43-48
'You have heard how it was said, You will love your neighbour ... Read More

Saint of the Day

June 18 Saint of the Day

St. Gregory Barbarigo
June 18: St. Gregory Barbarigo was born in 1625, of a very old and ... Read More