Al-Bayda Massacre

This horrendous reported massacre of at least 50-100+ civilians, including women and children, by the Syrian military and "Shabiha," was said to have occurred in al-Bayda, (here on Google maps) in the mountains 5-6 km south of coastal Baniyas. It's closely related to and sometimes confused with the larger next-day Baniyas massacre in the nearby Ras al-Nabi' district of Baniyas city.

The numbers of dead reported by different activists range wildly from around 50 to 400 or more, with the lower end of the scale being far more likely - at least 70, possibly as high as the 165 names listed by one activist group. Whether killed soldiers/Shabiha or rebel fighters are included in any of the tallies is unclear, but opposition reports make it sound like all victims are civilian. It seems a majority at least were, and included women and children and whole families. (seetalk page, death toll) Most seem to have been shot dead, but some were slaughtered with blades, and some bodies were burnt.

See the discussion page for at least a bit more information on a number of sub-issues with this incident. Below are a select few points, summarized.

Location
Baniyas and its surroundings lie in the coastal Tartous province, the Alawite-dominated part of the country, but are both Sunni-dominated and, as usual for places that suffer massacres like this, surrounded by Alawite villages. The massacre(s) occurring there are said, therefore, to be part of the supposed cleansing of Sunnis from the Alawite area of the country, a motive claimed previously for massacres in Homs and Hama province to the east (see Haswiyeh massacre, for example). Until May, Tartous has seen little if any such mass violence like that to the east, but it seems the pattern is migrating.

At right is a map showing the general area: Ras al-Nabi', where the following day's massacre reportedly happened. At least Maqrab and Basateen in between had additional fighting and/or massacres reported in those few days, and so might be worth considering. Locations identified within the Bayda area are so far limited to the main square. Just where the massacred civilians were filmed, etc. have not been pinned down.

Pre-Massacre Fighting
Interestingly, as in many other such cases, the massacre came after a battle between rebel and security forces. At an early hour once given as 4 AM but perhaps earlier, rebels in al-Bayda ambushed a group of loyalist fighters (alternately given as soldiers or "Shabiha"), killing 7 and injuring some 20-40, and perhaps taking those prisoner.

That victory belies the opposition claims that there were only 0-14 rebel fighters there (see here for more on that claim). It was this rebel victory, most agree, that brought the larger army presence of later in the day who "cleansed" al-Bayda of the militants or, alternately, rampaged around killing scores of innocents just for being Sunni. State media ran video footage of weapons seized in the raid; rocket-propelled grenades, rifles and ammunition - nothing extraordinary, but more than 14 fighters' worth.

Loyalist Victims
One clue to the exact nature of the supposed anti-Sunni genocide is how a certain Sunni family was singled out, with a reported 36 members of all ages killed. This was headed by sheikh Omar al-Biassi/Biyasi/Bayyasi, 63, the imam of al-Bayda's main mosque. He was a government loyalist, most agree, a rejector of the violent uprising, a member of the National Reconciliation Commission, and "a known advocate of interfaith dialogue and national unity." According to one report, Biassi was once a rebellion/protest supporter, but ran afoul of the rebels, after they falsely claimed the government had killed him. On May 2 the same claim was made and proven with a rebel ("citizen journalist") photo. At least one source says his last act was trying to negotiate with rebels for the release of the captured soldiers/Shabiha. Activist "Ahmad" told Reuters, for a late-May report, how "the Biyasi family suffered some of the worst losses, with 36 documented deaths" among the sheikh's extended kin, "even though he always opposed the protests." Presumably, Ahmad would have us believe, the reason was the his religion alone. At least 40 members of other families Fattouh, Hamouda, Qaddour, and al-Shoghri, each of which had an intermarriage with the Biassi family, were also killed on May 2. (See Talk: The Imam and his Family for more detail on this.)

Timeline of Events
Again, there are two versions of the al-Bayda massacre. Both of them agree (generally) on the pre-dawn ambush/skirmish, but they differ otherwise. One basic versions says later in the morning army reinforcements came and committed the massacre. The other versions says rebels carried out both the ambush and the massacre in the early hours, before a larger force arrived to put them in check. Keep these differences in mind while considering the following sequence of events (from specific times reported, truthfully or not, by various sources on different sides - a shortened form of timeline on the talk page)

- 4 AM: New York Times: "Activists said that on May 2, around 4 a.m., security forces came to detain defectors, and were ambushed in a fight that killed several government fighters — the first known armed clash in Baniyas."

- Pre-Dawn Massacre Scenes: the following at least were dead and filmed by rebels/activists in full pre-dawn dark. Pre-dawn clues (as opposed to, say, the following night) are noted with two entries. We can say these scenes existed and at least some 30 civilians had been brutally murdered before, say, 5:30 am.

- bedroom scene, 6 dead, women and children (Fattouh-Biassa family?) Pre-dawn clues: a boy victim wet his shorts, which are more dried in the daylight (later) video)

- Room of  Horror, app. 20 dead, all women and children (famil(ies) unclear, analysis pending)

- Othman home, 5 dead males, mostly adult. Pre-dawn clues: 15-year-old Ahmad is clearly in situ here, so clearly moved for a later photo, in low (early) daylight.

- Three charred men, out in the street, intense smoldering (just finished burning). One is reportedly Ibrahim al Shoghri, 69.

- 6 AM: "At 6 in the morning Assad forces surrounded Al-Bayyda in Banays" (a Facebook page

- 6:44 AM: Sunrise According to the NOAA solar calculator

- Morning Massacre Scenes: the following scenes at least were still accessible to rebels and filmed again in daylight, possibly before sunrise, but when the sky is at least partly lit-up: the bedroom scene (see same link as above), charred men (intense smoldering, just finished burning - again - same link), Ahmad of the Othman family (moved, see same link), and Sheikh Omar al-Biassi.

- 7 AM: pro-gov. source: "The clashes began about seven o'clock in the morning." (the earlier ambush is mentioned, but not taken as the start of "clashes") New York Times: "The government called in reinforcements and, by 7 a.m., began shelling the village." Anti-gov. activists: "The bombing started at seven in the morning on Friday until ten o'clock, (14 artillery shells, rockets and machine guns) ... during this time villagers fled through the orchards ... several hundred remained."

- 10 AM: anti-gov. activists: "at 10:00 began the attack ... began to massacre, and continued until two o'clock PM"

- 2 PM and After: anti-gov. activists: "(the city was?) calm after two o'clock PM, but rapists remained and spread until the evening."

- 3 PM: Approximate time of killing of 5 men in the main square, then under SAA control. A white government truck is abandoned, at least one van burnt out, another burning intensely.