[9] On 13 May, large demonstrations erupted in violence, as protestors set fire to Jisr ash-Shughur's Baʻth Party office.

[12] In fact, however, Basil al-Masri had been armed and was killed during an attempted attack on a security outpost near Jisr ash-Shughur's railway station.

[7] The opposition initially claimed that the victims of these events were civilian protesters,[17] and reported several incidents when unarmed people were executed by security forces.

He proclaimed that he had come to Jisr ash-Shughur in hopes of defending civilians, and founded the Free Officers Movement to rally other soldiers to the opposition's cause.

[20] In any case, rebels quickly seized control of Jisr ash-Shughur, taking weapons from the area's military bases and police stations.

Some defectors from military units began to travel to the area, and pro-opposition sources claimed that up to 2,000 rebel soldiers eventually amassed in the town, declaring themselves "free".

[22] Mohammad later admitted that he and his followers filmed themselves burying the dead loyalists, but portrayed them as victims of government suppression for propaganda purposes.

The government downplayed the exodus, claiming that the locals were just visiting relatives and that the military intended to rescue civilians who were used as human shields.

[24] Upon being informed of the events at Jisr ash-Shughur, the Syrian government resolved to crush the rebels at all cost, lest the uprising inspire more soldiers to revolt.

[7] It could not allow the spreading of rumours about the mass killing of security forces, talk of a mutiny, and the establishment of "liberated areas".

[7] Syrian security forces eventually reached Jisr ash-Shughur on 8 June and took up positions at the town's sugar factory.

They often executed captured rebel soldiers, killed numerous civilians, and burned parts of the town as well as surrounding fields.

[7] An army general claimed that the troops were only trying to find those responsible for the earlier deaths and denied that shelling or other attacks on civilians had taken place.

This allowed the government forces to launch a final attack[7] on 12 June, from the south and east, using up to 200 military vehicles, including tanks, as well as helicopters.

[25] According to Syrian state media, troops battled "army units and members of armed organisations taking up positions in the surroundings of Jisr ash-Shughur and inside it.

"[25] In contrast to these reports, local witnesses stated that the city was almost empty by the time security forces entered, encountering little resistance.

[2] Syrian politician Bouthaina Shaaban, an advisor to President Assad, also stated that "only minor security operations" took place in the town.

[7] The Jisr ash-Shughur clashes led to widespread reports about alleged massacres in the town, resulting in growing national and international support for the Syrian opposition.

[25][26] Shaaban later alleged that Turkey had been part of the rebel-initiated "fear-mongering campaign", as it had set up refugee camps even before the fighting at Jisr ash-Shughur had begun.