There was: a Belgian rifle, an FN from the town of Herstal, manufacturer’s code 1473224.
Robert Fisk, ‘They snipe at us then run and hide in sewers’, The Independent, Tuesday 21 August 2012. (h/t to @rqskye for sending me this article).
Reporting from Aleppo, Robert Fisk doesn’t give much information on the rifle he describes, but the one he gives is quite unusual: the serial number. Here’s an hypothesis, and it’s just what it is, as more documentation would be needed to confirm anything. So far, we didn’t see any other Belgian-made rifle than the FAL. Let’s assume that the “Belgian”, “FN” and “Herstal” elements were read on the upper-receiver, along with the serial number: no other markings seem to have been spotted by the journalist, who at least appears to have examined them. This would show that this specific rifle was produced in Belgium, and not in another country under license. All those elements are situated on the right side of the rifle. In the reference literature about the FAL rifle, there is a chart - prepared by FN - showing the FAL sales per year from 1953 to 1980. Reading the serial number, it is possible to assess the production year. It this case, the 1,473,224th FAL rifle was produced around 1978.
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