♪ and i did what i did and i didn't mean anything ♪ ♪ the sunrise dry eyes red morning ♪ ♪ smoke stacks old hats i'm still learning ♪ ♪ i don't know how i got this far down where's the ceiling ♪ ♪ i don't know how i got this far down where's the ceiling ♪ ♪ her eyes are wide open right out of her head yeah ♪ ♪ 'cause she's cleared of a crime ♪ that she could not commit no ♪ ♪ well i did what i did and i'd do it all over again ♪ ♪ ♪ i remember everything little girl learning to sing ♪

♪ because she's crying all over me ♪ ♪ well i did what i did and i didn't mean anything ♪ ♪ the sunrise dry eyes red morning ♪ ♪ smoke stacks old hats i'm still learning ♪ ♪ i don't know how i got this far down where's the ceiling ♪ ♪ i don't know how i got this far down where's the ceiling ♪ ♪ her eyes are wide open right out of her head yeah ♪ ♪ cause she's cleared of a crime ♪ that she could not commit no ♪ ♪ well i did what i did

and i'd do it all over again ♪ ♪ we we should be easy ♪ we should be easy we should be ♪ ♪ we we should be easy ♪ we should be easy we should be ♪ ♪ we we should be easy ♪ we should be easy we we should be easy ♪ ♪ we should be easy we should be ♪ ♪ we we should be easy ♪ we should be easy we should be ♪ ♪ free sometimes

captions by vitac tonight on a special edition of "night line," prayers for peace. searing firsthand video diary. people from both sides of the

lines in syria put themselves at risk to tell their story. a young schoolteacher, a phone engineer, a mother whose child has been taken hostage, all caught in the cross fire. and an unforgettable look through the eye of a child. a 13-year-old schoolboy in a city under siege. chronicles of life. >> this special

>> this is a special edition of "nig "nightline," caught in the cross fire. >> good evening. tointd in this season of peace we have an extraordinary report from syria, a country steeped in biblical history but wracked by heartbreaking conflict.

the latest chapterer in a war entering its third year now. abc news has had ordinary syr syrians filming their own stories, often risking their own lives to do that. now we bring you those reports from the people on both sides caught in the cross fire. >> 24-year-old abu is caught in the cross fire. >> now i'm surrounded by regime forces. there are daily clashes and lots of bombs. >> and he's filming himself. >> this is what young men in war really look like. >> they are shooting at everyone, even children.

>> 13-year-old abdulla uses his camera to film what no child should ever see. >> every day, every day we have to have snipers. >> oh my god, did you hear that? >> he shot at us. >> to protect this young boy's identity, we are not showing his face. >> this is the blood of someone that died here. >> i'm not afraid of death. >> also documenting the carnage, a syrian photographer. >> it's the same as fighting at the front lines. >> these three anti-government activists live in the opposition stronghold where some of the fiercest street fighting of the war has taken place.

opposition fighters have fought back block by block, street by street, building by building. the people who live here never know where the battle lines are being drawn. barely a teenager, abdulla handles the camera we gave him like a pro, documenting daily life from a four foot perspective. >> now we're going to speak to the heroes of the free syrian army. how are you my brother? what's the news from the front? >> the fight against the regime fills most of his frame. his idea of fun, playing a protester in his community children's play who gets shot.

but one day in august, abdulla confronted a scene so real it would make the most hardened journalist flinch. the aftermath of a bombing on a mosque in his neighborhood. >> there's been a bombing in the shopping district. they're trying to destroy the economy. >> abdulla's lens follows the bloody victims as they stream by. even at the most gruesome sight, he follows. >> where was the rocket dropped? who dropped it? >> the only time abdulla's camera waivers is when the unimaginable happens. another bomb explodes just

blocks away. the 13-year-old runs towards the smoke. >> a rocket. >> his voice the only thing revealing his youth. >> there are not many women on the front lines of this war. once answer english teacher, she now risks her life to teach the world about the horror she sees every day. >> you saw a man die five minutes ago. >> yes. >> do you worry that could happen to you? >> you're not thinking. it's just something i have to do. so many girls died in the kitchen. more shells or shrapnel coming

through the window, what's the point? >> we have had enough from not being able to say how we feel and now we can. we're going to build this whole country again from scratch, from zero. >> this is a rally. people want to bring down the regime. abu, with the camera we gave him, records his work as an activist and aid worker. >> they have so many needs and they can use anything. >> but this is him, even while carrying meals to the needy he carries a gun. >> it's so crowded here. >> it is the perfect potential shooting gallery for a sniper. >> used by both sides, snipers are hidden.

they can strike anywhere at any time. all they need is a window and a gun. >> snipers are there 24/7. at any moment we could lose someone. >> from his apartment window, abu films the consequences. >> that is the guy who rescued the two kids shot earlier and took them to the ambulance. >> violence like this happens so often, no one in the crowd takes notice of the bloodied man. >> there's a sniper upstairs. >> and instead of cops and robbers, children here play a game of sniper. >> give me the gun. i will shoot someone. everyone. >> but just weeks later after filming these boys, abu himself became the victim of a real sniper. >> i hope to wake up and everything will be fine.

there is no place that is safe enough. >> with most of the schools destroyed or closed, abdulla finds kids on the street with nowhere to go and nothing to do. >> why are you playing? are you bored? >> we're bored. there's no school. >> why are there no schools? >> the teachers have left. nothing's left any more. >> there will be no school until the regime falls. >> abdulla channels his frustration by writing songs for the opposition. >> i lead protest songs at rallies in my neighborhood. i prepared these songs for rallies. it's made me a target. this song is called step down. and this is a list of songs that

i will sing on friday. >> this has made him a target of the regime. >> there were times in the secret police -- another time they got me. my whole family, even the girls, used to go out and demonstrate to topple the secret police and to topple injustice. thank you for listening. >> and when we come back, we'll cross to the other side to hear from the people who are under attack by rebels backed by al qaeda. avo: the volkswagen "sign then drive sales event is back. which means it's never been easier to get a new passat, awarded j.d. power's most appealing midsize car, two years in a row. and right now you can drive one home for practically just your signature.

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welcome back. as we'd seen the syrian rebels are fighting a brutal dictatorship. their ranks have been infiltrated by extremists loyal to al qaeda. and so we turn now to stories sent us by syrians inside government held territory caught in the cross nir above the city of latakia. >> as the final note to the call to prayer that marks each new day echoes through the mountain villages of the pro government region of latakia, extremist opposition fighters were secretly advancing. funded by al qaeda linked groups based outside syria, it was a coordinated attack on civilians.

>> sunday morning, august 4, the world was shaken awake. >> first came the rockets. >> if terrorists, they started firing shelling. gunshots rained down on the village. >> then the snipers proudly posted on youtube, these difficult images were filmed by the jihadist fighters themselves. human rights watch would condemn what they did here as crimes against humanity. >> everyone rushed to protect their wives and their whirn. . >> my husband yelled close the door and hide. i said i swear to god i will go without you. >> taking little resistance, they quickly owned the streets and attacked with abandon. a few of the villagers were

armed but they were outnumbered and ungunned. >> when the bullets run out, it's just a stick. >> my husband saw them coming. he pointed at them. they shot him. after they killed them they mutilated them. they cut them with a knife from here to here. they filmed it on the cell phone. is there anything more evil than what they did to us? >> they blocked the street off so nobody could pass. i saw people in front of me being killed. i got everybody out of the car. that was when my baby son was shot in the head. >> my husband, we couldn't carry him, we couldn't move him, me and my daughters. they dragged me along like a child who couldn't walk.

>> my son is two years old. he was bleeding in my arms. what could a child have possibly done to deserve to die. >> but at the end of that one day, the jihadist fighters had complete control. it was a systematic slaughter. the men they executed on the spot. women and children were rounded up and taken away. anyone left alive and uncaptured were fleeing into the woods. >> we were being fired at. i swear we were crawling, me and my daughters. barefoot and half naked. >> the next morning the army forces launched a counter offensive. it took 13 days to take back the villages. their homes were desecrated and they found close to 200 dead. many of the bodies discarded often mutilated and burned.

bashar's son did live. his own son was wounded and both are left with permanent reminders of the vicus attack. >> we did not bury one, two, or three. there are mass graves and there are still people missing. we don't know if they are alive or dead. >> is there anything more evil, more hateful? my daughter and i are suffering. >> so many families in this conflict don't know what has happened to their loved ones. are they dead or have they been captured, becoming one of the thousands of people who have disappeared leaving their families in an agonizing no man's land like this one. >> i always call. sometimes they answer and hang up. sometimes they don't answer at all. >> he is desperate to leave his son. an image that no family wants to

see. the video shows the 18-year-old being seized by rebel forces, joining the ranks of thousands of young men who have disappeared on both sides of this conflict. >> he said i'm going to go fight. we begged him not to. >> according to them, he only recently joined a pro regime militia group. he's a teenager. you give them a gun and they feel all powerful. >> and an uncle of risks reaching across the battle lines from a friend seeking opposition. >> you are my brother with every meaning of the word. if you can help us with this, a favor of a lifetime. >> but for the family it is hard to hold out hope. >> i'm afraid there is no negotiating with them. >> his family has been torn between demands from his alleged captors for money and devastating news that he has been killed. like so many families of the

disappeared, they have no idea what to believe. they, too, are caught in the cross fire. like our 13-year-old abdullah has had to go into hiding. extreme islamic factions have taken over the opposition movement. >> there is no one helping the people of syria, the people in my neighborhood. every day we have to hide from the snipers and the bombs. >> and abu, who shot by a sniper had recovered enough recently to revisit the scene of his attack. >> there is always water between me and the regime army. >> and this woman who was also hurt in the con flick but continues to share scenes of the war with the world. >> it's a lost case on both sides. it's bad what happened to syria here.

but it's not going to end soon. ♪

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