Inside Syria ( CNN ) -- Sa'er is a self-described assassin for the Syrian government . He says he has fired on unarmed protesters , killed as many as 70 people and once slit a man 's throat . It was kill or be killed , he says ; Sa'er says he was simply carrying out orders . He says he worked at an Interior Ministry prison , and `` we would go out with the officers from the prisons . ... They gave us guns with scopes and you see the body as if you 're looking at yourself in the mirror . '' Sa'er agreed to be filmed by CNN as his wounds were treated by opposition activists . He said he was on a bus that was ambushed by unknown assailants . He asked that his identify be obscured enough so that the government ca n't recognize him but said he wanted his friends to know that he is alive -- and a changed man . Out of fear , his captors keep Sa'er blindfolded . Members of the opposition intend to trade him for other men in custody , and they do n't want him to be able to identify them down the road . He is a bargaining chip . CNN could not independently confirm the man 's story , nor was it possible to know whether he had been coerced into telling it . `` I ca n't untie your eyes because I am afraid of you , '' Mounir , a member of the opposition , tells Sa'er . `` Why are you doing this ? Why are you killing us ? '' Mounir demands , his gun nearby . Sa'er tells Mounir about a time two police officers captured a man . A major put a gun to Sa'er 's head and ordered him to kill the prisoner , he says . `` He said , ' I am going to count to 10 . ' He cocked the gun , fired into the air and put it to my head again . I slaughtered him , '' Sa'er says . The government turned him and others like him into monsters who would have killed their own fathers , he claims . They were promised wealth and told they were helping to fight terrorists , he says . For close to a year , the Syrian government has sustained a brutal crackdown on protesters seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad . The government claims its security forces are battling terrorists . The United Nations estimates that at least 5,400 people have been killed , while an opposition group says more than 7,000 people have died . Each side is fighting for the future of Syria , and with each death , is growing more and more entrenched . Still , perhaps , there is a space for change -- or maybe , just an apparent change of heart for a man being held against his will . `` These guys I am with , I used to see them in a different light , '' Sa'er says about his captors . `` Since I have been with them , I have seen only good . ''
Sa'er is a self-described assassin for the government . He agreed to be filmed as he underwent medical treatment . He says he fired on unarmed protesters and killed as many as 70 people . Comment: