Talk:Homs Massacres

Page Scope
The scope is negotiable. It could include all Homs province (which stretches way back into big areas where relatively little happens), or any of these more core areas: Houla, Qusayr, Rastan, Talbiseh, al-Ghanto, etc. I say Houla has a page, Qusayr has a page, and Rastan/Talbiseh could. Hama clearly could use its own place, perhaps including Rastan et al. This could get big enough just on Homs city, immediate suburbs, etc. The Abel massacre should be included, despite being between Homs and Qusayr orbits, since Baba Amr was emptied the day before and that's likely where the killers came from. Spots to the east not in anyone else's orbit could be included; I think that might cover Maksar al-Husn - nah, too far out, unless we can connect ti to militants from Homs. Different thoughts welcome. --Caustic Logic (talk) 07:45, 30 November 2013 (UTC)

Manner of inclusion: general timeline with entries, links in most cases (depending how many entries we finally have). Most links for now will be to pages, but a lot of smaller massacres will need space short of a page, which will be a section on this page.--Caustic Logic (talk) 07:45, 30 November 2013 (UTC)

Full Timeline
As soon as it's half-ready this will go on the front page. --Caustic Logic (talk) 07:45, 30 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Some notes are meant to transport in time. I intend to have a fairly clean timeline. :) --Caustic Logic (talk) 09:51, 1 December 2013 (UTC)


 * 2011
 * April 17: page: Tellawi Family Massacre
 * April 18 or so: "Massacre of Time" (clock square, central Homs - several protesters, as described, shot while participating in a demonstration, as they called it. Details worth examining)
 * After these April incidents and before December, there may be more but on searching around, "massacre" just doesn't come up, in Homs, very frequently in 2011. There was constant murky violence and near-daily deaths, but no one seemed to pull off anything quite like what we now know as the Syria style of massacre. April 18 they called it one, April 17, my choice, maybe not the best. Anything else even vying for a slot here gets a dot below this, in proper order. --Caustic Logic (talk) 09:51, 1 December 2013 (UTC)
 * December 4-6, 2011: page: Early December, 2011 Sectarian Killings in Homs


 * 2012
 * January 24: A "massacre" by shelling, allegedly, leaving horribly mangled victims.
 * January 26: section: Bahader-Akkra Family Massacre: At least 13-17 civilians executed in Karm al-Zaytoun, including six children (8 months old to nine years, mostly around 2), and at least five women, all civilians and absolutely mauled in their homes, throats sliced and skulls split, left where opposition activists would find them and be able to prove the "Shabiha" slaughter, as they branded it.
 * January 30: section, Mohammad Family, Jan. 30: Again, Karm al-Zaytoun, another family - of 6, named Mohammed as reported - is killed in their home. Held in it and tortured for five days, rebels learned, but then just walked away and let the rebels walk in and film it. Some horrible signs are a little too-exposed, similar to what the shelling here often does, but this time they swear humans - Shabiha anyway - did this stuff deliberately, over days, probably in front of each other.
 * February 2: Khalidiya Massacre Reports say "Assad regime" shelling kills over 200 civilians, largely in Khalidiya, on the eve of another UNSC meeting to, perhaps, pressure the butcher Assad from power. The government says rebels massacred hostages they were holding and falsely labeled them as killed by the government's necessary offensive against the abductors of Syria''s people infesting many districts of Homs. (this pattern of strangely fatal alleged shelling repeats all through these allegations, but is perhaps most acutely central in this case)
 * February 20: section: Jinyat Family Massacre (a family or so killed by alleged shelling, like the above but further from city center, much smaller, and more horrifically expressed yet - one senses a certain bitterness of defeat here a bit too much this one, was never pushed )
 * March 11/12: page: Karm al-Zaytoun Massacre
 * April 5: section:Mando Family Massacre


 * 2013
 * January 15: page: Haswiyeh Massacre Once again, over 100 people were killed in a Homs massacre! 106 to Houla's 108, everyone crowed. Shabiha killed that many locals, they said. Others (actual locals living there) said an al-Nusra front suicide mission killed about 30 civilian locals, and apparently about 75 militants were killed in the following battle.


 * March 25: page: Abel massacre: Up to 21 civilians including children killed, hacked up, beheaded, etc. and burned. 13 visually verified, the unusual degree of bestial mangling showing perhaps an extra rage and frustration on the part of the killers. Abel, meaning apple, is just 3 km south of Baba Amr, Homs, and the incident happened the day after rebel forces were fully chased away from there after a huge and frustrating defeat.

(forthcoming)
 * 2014

Specific Events
Those with No Dedicated Page will be explored in sub-sections below, listed in chronological order.

Bahader-Akkra Family Massacre
January 26, 2012 - a massacre in Karm al-Zaytoun (KaZ). LCC report Syria News - January 26 2012 (Warning: Graphic Videos) Videos from Homs, graphic indeed, purport to show "Shabiha slaughter a whole family in Karm Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood. Five children under the age of five years old, a young girl, a man, and three women killed by Assad's thugs." More videos are under the headings "The martyrs of the Karam-Az-Zaitoun massacre." and "A massacre in the area. A real massacre." A total of eight videos are shown with some of the worst imagery imaginable. I've looked at these videos before with no context. I thought I had written down notes but cannot find them. We see brutal deaths - clearly sliced throats on babies, hacked-open or smashed-apart skulls on all ages, etc. Just the freeze-frames at the post there are enough to get the picture. Little kids with bloody faces wrapped in orange, or previously on red clinic tables, a pre-teen boy with eyeballs popped out, etc.

The LCC says January 26 witnessed 32 martyrs in Homs, of 65 total for Syria that day. Only the family of ten is specified as massacred in this way. There was other suspicious violence listed, especially snipers placed at regime places or a church. But in KaZ we have:
 * Fall of martyrs and dozens of wounded from a violent attack launched by security forces and army on Karm Al-Zaiton, where mortar shells were fired, which led to the displacement of the residents of two entire streets in the side of Al-Janoubi neighborhood, and destruction of several houses.

Actually, that's about it, aside from the shocking videos begging an explanation. We guess there was a massacre connected to this, and once again rebels scooped up the evidence up before anyone else could. The next day the LCC share another video "showing the burying of the bodies of the civilians who were killed in Karm Al-Zaytoon massacre," but there are no further details. That's a little odd. --Caustic Logic (talk) 15:17, 30 November 2013 (UTC)

The VDC martyrs database is more helpful here, ppresuming their records are acurate as to names and such. AM=Adult Male, CF=Child Female, etc. Abdullah family: (3) killed by "shooting" in KaZ. Omar Mohammed Al-Abdullah AM - Alaa Al-Abdullah AM - Amer Abdullah CM. Mahmoud Naguib Palasem from KaZ, killed by "Kidnapping - Execution." That makes four maybe inclusions.
 * 26 martyrs from Homs, Jan 26


 * Bahader family (7), killed in KaZ Jan. 26 by "Field Execution." This must be the family of ten, or the bulk of it. Notes for each: "His/her house was stormed and he/she was killed." By whom is not specified here. Video of the martyr for all of them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CodxCMhQdes.

Moataz Bahadir AM age 24 -Rana Bahader AF age 25 - Abdul Ghani Bahadir CM age 9 - Samira Bahader CF age 3 - Sedra Bahader CF age 2. Two other adult female members - Mayada Abdulghani Bahader - Ghazal Bahader - are listed with age:0 (no data) and slightly different notes: "Her House was raided and all the family was executed." = at least 13 field executed civilians in Karm al-Zaytoun, perhaps all somehow part of the cited family of ten seen in the rebel morgue. It's probably 17 with the four maybes, or even more - VDC's records are frequently incomplete. At least six children, and at least five women, all civilians and absolutely mauled in their homes, left where opposition activists would find them and be able to prove the "Shabiha" slaughter of the type that would become so famous four months later in the form of the Houla Massacre. --Caustic Logic (talk) 15:17, 30 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Akkra Family, KaZ (3) field executed, same notes, same video as above: Sanaa Akra CF age 2 - Ali Akra CM age 2 - Najm Akkra CM, Different notes: "He is 8 months old, killed while storming their house."
 * Other KaZ (3) field executed, same notes, same video as above: Kenana Affara AF age 28 - Waed Hamsho AF age 19 - Samir Wahoud AM age 50.
 * As I've previously noted elsewhere, around this time (I didn't even save the date) "Late January, 2012" someone posted a video, now pulled, claiming "Shabiha record their own Homs massacre, rebels later found and published "Syria Shabiha Cell Phone Secrets - Self Video of Homs Massacre." Wouldn't it be interesting if the "Shabiha" who cut these kids' throats recorded some part of their massacre, and rebels managed to get it from them, as well as the bodies, within a matter of five days at most? Not only did I not save the video, I don't think I watched it, and cannot find a mirror posting of it anywhere. Can another brain help? --Caustic Logic (talk) 15:43, 30 November 2013 (UTC)
 * The massacre of the Mohammad family below might be a candidate too, with more back-story to it a video might have assisted in. --Caustic Logic (talk) 11:53, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

Confirmation of the alleged ID: AP report by Bassem Mroue and Zeina Karam, Jan. 27:
 * Video posted online showed the bodies of five small children, five women and a man, all bloodied and piled on beds in what appeared to be an apartment after a building was hit in the city of Homs. A narrator said an entire family had been "slaughtered." 
 * The video posted Friday by activists showed the bodies of five young children, their faces bloodied, wrapped in orange plastic bags. It said the children were believed to be from two families, the Akras and the Bahadours. Brown cardboard placards with the children's names written in Arabic were placed on their chests, identifying them: Thanaa, Ali, Najm, Abdul-Ghani and Sidra.--Caustic Logic (talk) 11:53, 1 December 2013 (UTC)
 * The video posted Friday by activists showed the bodies of five young children, their faces bloodied, wrapped in orange plastic bags. It said the children were believed to be from two families, the Akras and the Bahadours. Brown cardboard placards with the children's names written in Arabic were placed on their chests, identifying them: Thanaa, Ali, Najm, Abdul-Ghani and Sidra.--Caustic Logic (talk) 11:53, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

Mohammad Family Massacre
January 30, Karm al-Zaytoun:
 * Syria News - January 30 2012 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
 * The number of martyrs in Syria until this moment has reached 100, among them are 8 children and a woman. 76 people were martyred in Homs, among them are two families, one in Karam Zeitoun and the other in Rasta. [sic]
 * ...Homs
 * The activist Abu Mo’az talking about two massacres in Karam Al-Zaytoun, Homs speaking with great difficulty: The family remained 5 days in their home… The first martyr is a handicapped boy who was disfigured and tortured to death! The second martyr is a little girl tortured by shabiha who took out her intestines. The third image is of the father who was ortured and disfigured with broken ribs… He looked as if they smashed his whole body. The fourth martyr is a baby boy pulled strongly away from his mother’s lap while holding her hair. … He was tortured and deformed; some of his mother’s hair is still in his hand. The fifth martyr is a little girl brutalised and tortured till she passed away!! The mother was the last one! Her eyes are almost ripped out. Apparently, she was tortured to death!

Cited video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E44MkwaXCo. Under heading "(01-30-12) Karam az-Zaytoun massacre | Homs | Child, Ahmad Al-Muhammad Murdered by Assad" another: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXwaodGhMp0. The description they provide is fair enough, and few people if any need to watch this filth. It's one of the more hideous things I've ever seen, especially the baby with guts squished out, the "disabled" boy in a poorly-improvised diaper, and mom's blown-out (or they say pulled out) eye ... All but mom are laid out in their underwear in good lighting so you can see where humans with tools - not random shelling and they acknowledge it this time - dug holes into the soft parts of all their bodies, it looks like. They suggest the torture was done to members of the family in front of each other just for the added emotional anguish of it, and made a point of spreading it out over five days of living hell. And it could be so; they seem to be the experts, or know the experts, in what happened. The five days would have started about January 25, the day before some exuberant new criminals in the KaZ area slaughtered people from two other families (see above).

Besides the videos, the text reports in the LCC report add fairly little. "Homs: Shelling towards Karm Al-Zaitoun neighborhood and Al-Nazeheen continues . Shooting and explosions didn't stop since early morning." This renewed Army shelling coincided with the killers ending their five-day stint in that home, and what seems to be only a brief time that activists could access the house, after the murky pro-Assad criminals fled but before Assad's army and authorities closed in. And they didn't hit the window right either, LCC reports:
 * Homs: Security forces and thugs (Shabeha) committed a horrible crime with an entire family in Karm Al-Zayton neighborhood and arrested several young men who were able to arrive to the home of the murdered family. Also, securitiy members took the corpse of the family members namely: Mohammad Turki Al-Mohammad (Father), Ebtisam Al-Khodr (Mother) and Amjad, Tahiyat and Ahmad (Children).
 * "...able to arrive to the home of the murdered family" obviously is more accurately rendered "caught at the scene of the crime." Or ... it's not clear yet what this means. --Caustic Logic (talk) 10:50, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

The boy's name being given was helpful, because otherwise it's not named in the LCC report. The VDC lists a family of six that would be a fit anyway, and they have the same name, as given - Mohammad. on this list, amongst a few other martyrs in Karm al-Zaytoun that day. Each entry says field executed, no notes except the father. Some combination of these 4 video links is given for each: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMc-WbFIXwE - ...v=mi5-5MsYEkg - ...v=2E44MkwaXCo - ...v=Jbei-9YfyNI Listing note: for whatever reason, the males were listed first, with martyr numbers in the range 6906-6964, while mother and daughters bearing numbers in the range 15013-15020. --Caustic Logic (talk) 10:50, 1 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Ibtissam Al-Khider AF age 35
 * Tasneem Mohammad Al-Mohammad CF age 2
 * Tahiyat Mohammad Al-Mohammad CF age 5
 * Amjad Mohammad Al-Mohammed CM Mother's Name Ibtisam Al-Khodr Age 0
 * Ahmad Mohammad Al-Muhammad CM Mother's Name Ibtisam Al-Khodr] Mother's Name Ibtisam Al-Khodr Age 0
 * Mohammad Turki Al-Mohammad AM age 40. Notes: slaughtered and shot.

Jinyat Family Massacre
February 20, 2012 (forthcoming)

Mando Family Massacre
April 5, 2012: LCC Daily summary:
 * Homs: Several businessmen were martyred under torture after they were arrested from their farm in the neighborhood of Bab Amr during the raid. Their farm was burned after looting its contents. The martyrs are: Abdelhalim Mando, Yaser Abdelhalim Mando, Shawky Yaser Mando and Muhannad Yaser Mando. Their corpses have not been delivered to the families thus far.

Clearly the businessmen are related. VDC has entries for these, all civilian, from Baba-Amr, killed April 5 by "Detention - Torture." Each entry explains "They were arrested from their farm during the raids on the neighborhood of Baba Amr, were the security forces burned the farm after looting its contents." Shawki photo cropped from a group photo included with this Arabic report from April 7. This says the victims were a father and his two sons, plus his grandfather (his father apparently already deceased). "Activists said that security forces looted the farm which contain large amounts of money, and warehouse genuine leather, and gold pieces." There was no official statement, they say, as usual "since the beginning of the events." Described as businessmen, they apparently prospered under the "Assad regime," wearing nice suits and sitting in nice chairs, stacking up gold and leather, and passing the unspecified family business down along at least three generations.
 * Shawqi Yaser Mando age 30, photo
 * Muhanad Yaser Mando age 29, photo
 * Yaser Abdulhalim Mando age 58, photo
 * Abdulhalim Mando age 90, no photo.

Perhaps most interestingly, a child of the family was also listed by the VDC as killed in nearby Houla that same day by (random?) shelling:
 * Rami Mando age 10, from Homs: Houla - killed April 5, 2012 by "shelling." No photo or further details. --Caustic Logic (talk) 07:45, 30 November 2013 (UTC)