Houla massacre

For massacres with similar names, see Hula massacre and Hola massacre.

Houla massacre
Part of the Syrian Civil War
Houla massacre is located in Syria
Houla massacre
LocationHoula, Homs, Syria
Coordinates34°53′7″N 36°30′42″E / 34.88528°N 36.51167°E / 34.88528; 36.51167
DateMay 25, 2012; 12 years ago (2012-05-25)
Deaths108, including 25 men, 34 women and 49 children (per U.N. observers)[1]
Injured300[2]
PerpetratorsShabiha and Syrian military (concluded by UN investigations)[3]

The Houla massacre (Arabic: مجزرة الحولة) was a mass murder of civilians by Syrian government forces that took place on May 25, 2012, in the midst of the Syrian Civil War, in the town of Taldou, in the Houla Region of Syria, a string of towns northwest of Homs. According to the United Nations, 108 people were killed, including 34 women and 49 children.[4] While a small proportion of the deaths appeared to have resulted from artillery and tank rounds used against Taldou, the U.N. later announced that most of the massacre's victims had been "summarily executed in two separate incidents".[5] UN investigators have reported that some witnesses and survivors stated that the massacre was committed by pro-government Shabiha.[4] In August 2012 UN investigators released a report which stated that it was likely that Syrian troops and Shabiha militia were responsible for the massacre, concluding that: "On the basis of available evidence, the commission has a reasonable basis to believe that the perpetrators of the deliberate killing of civilians, at both the Abdulrazzak and Al-Sayed family locations, were aligned to the Government. It rests this conclusion on its understanding of access to the crime sites, the loyalties of the victims, the security layout in the area including the position of the government’s water authority checkpoint and the consistent testimonies of victims and witnesses with direct knowledge of the events. This conclusion is bolstered by the lack of credible information supporting other possibilities."[6]

The Syrian government alleged that Al-Qaeda terrorist groups were responsible for the killings, and that Houla residents were warned not to speak publicly by opposition forces.[7][8] This account received support from a report published by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung,[9][10]but is contested by most media coverage[11] and by the report published by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in August 2012.[6]

Channel 4 News reported that Houla residents stated that the Syrian military and government-hired Shabiha were the perpetrators of the massacre, as claimed by opposition groups.[12][13] Townspeople described how Shabiha, who were thought to be men from Shia/Alawite villages to the south and west of Houla (Kabu and Felleh were named repeatedly) entered the town after several hours of shelling. According to one eyewitness, the killers had written Shia slogans on their foreheads (the Alawi faith is a Shia sect).[14][15]

The fifteen nations of the U.N. Security Council unanimously condemned the Syrian government for firing heavy weapons at civilians.[1] The U.S., U.K., and eleven other nations jointly expelled Syrian ambassadors and diplomats from their territories.[16][17]

On June 1, 2012, 41 out of 47 countries in the UNHRC supported a resolution condemning "in the strongest possible terms such an outrageous use of force against the civilian population".[18] The resolution, which blamed Syrian government troops and pro-government militias,[19] instructed an expert panel to conduct an "international, transparent, independent and prompt investigation".[18][20] Russia, China and Cuba voted against the resolution, with Uganda and Ecuador abstaining, and the Philippines was absent during the vote.[18] On June 27, the UNHRC published a preliminary report on rights violations in Syria.[6] The report noted that the commission had "yet to be afforded access to the country," which "substantially hampered the investigation, and its findings should be viewed in that light."[21] The report states that "with the available evidence" the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) could not rule out any of three possible perpetrators, but that "while the CoI could not rule out the possibility of anti-Government fighters being responsible for the killing, it was considered unlikely."[21] In August 2012, following continued investigations focusing on identifying the perpetrators, a report published by the UNHRC concluded there was a reasonable basis to believe the perpetrators were aligned to the Syrian government.[6]

  1. ^ a b "Security Council Press Statement on Attacks in Syria" (Press release). UN. May 27, 2012. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
  2. ^ "Syria condemned for Houla massacre and shelling by UN". BBC News. May 28, 2012. Archived from the original on June 2, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  3. ^ "Houla massacre: UN blames Syria troops and militia". Bbc.co.uk. August 15, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Nebehay, Stephanie (May 29, 2012). "Most Houla victims killed in summary executions: U.N." Reuters. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  5. ^ "Syria crisis: Most Houla victims 'were executed'". BBC. May 29, 2012. Archived from the original on May 30, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d "UN Report 15 Aug 2012". Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  7. ^ "Syria: Armed Terrorist Groups committed Taldao, al-Shoumarieh Massacres". DP News. SANA. May 29, 2012. Archived from the original on June 1, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  8. ^ Allafi, F.; Said, H. (May 26, 2012). "New Massacres by al-Qaeda-linked Terrorist Groups against Families in al-Shumariyeh and Taldo in Homs Countryside". Syrian Arab News Agency. Archived from the original on May 28, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference faz1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference faz2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference spiegel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Syrian diplomats expelled after Houla massacre". Channel 4 News. May 29, 2012. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  13. ^ Jordan, Rosiland (May 26, 2012). "Syrian activists decry 'massacre' in Houla". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
  14. ^ Thomson, Alex (May 30, 2012). "The searing grief of Houla's Survivors". Channel 4 News. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  15. ^ Joshi, Shashank (May 31, 2012). "Is Syria becoming the new Iraq?". CNN. Archived from the original on June 1, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  16. ^ "Several countries expel Syrian diplomats as EU mulls joint expulsion". Al Arabiya. May 29, 2012. Archived from the original on May 30, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  17. ^ agencies. "Executions reported in Syria". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  18. ^ a b c "Russia backs Syria amid global condemnation" CBS News. June 1, 2012.
  19. ^ Chulov, Martin (June 1, 2012). "Houla massacre: UN resolution condemns Syria". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 24, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  20. ^ "UN calls for investigation into Houla killings in Syria" BBC News. June 1, 2012.
  21. ^ a b "Oral Update of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic." United Nations, Office of High Commissioner of Human Rights. A/HRC/20/CRP.1, 26 June 2012. http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session20/COI_OralUpdate_A.HRC.20.CRP.1.pdf