- “I, Colonel Hussein Harmoush, am leaving the Syrian army…” This is a rather captivating and moving video, showing a former Syrian Colonel discussing the refugees who have fled to Turkey, seeking to escape the oppression and violent brutality the Assad government has unleashed. Harmoush details seeing soldiers refuse to fire on civilians when given the terrible order, while others complied. This is in keeping with reports of internal fracturing in Syria, including military soldiers reportedly shot dead by government security forces for refusing to slay civilians. source