Houla:Timeline

The following attempts to lay out both timelines of what happened in Taldou on May 25, drawing on both alleged witnesses with a general government/Shabiha attack narrative and those with a general rebel attack narrative and then video evidence, for comparison purposes. (slightly incomplete at the moment, but getting there)

Before the attack/earlier in the day
The version of events related by those blaming the government include consistent features of the period before the government forces invaded. Friday prayers, a planned Friday protest, an impromptu fight at a checkpoint (or several), and a shelling attack The following events do not have specific times attached.

- Protest, then fight, then shelling: The Daily Mail heard “There had been a protest earlier in the day which led to an exchange of fire at an army checkpoint at Taldou on the outskirts of Houla. Later there was shelling."

- Fight, then shelling with no protest: Martin Chulov heard: "Around mid-morning in the village of Taldou, on the outskirts of Houla, they knelt in the streets for prayers, half an hour of piety and reflection before a weekly ritual of rage and defiance. But the placards were never used," as the shelling started, at 1:15. “According to several accounts, the Shabiha and regime troops [had] rallied after members of the Free Syria Army attacked a checkpoint earlier in the day.”

- Protest, then shelling, then fights: Der Spiegel heard "After Friday prayers on May 25, the residents of Taldou formed their usual protest marches against the regime. But then, in the early afternoon, army forces began heavily bombarding the village from several surrounding bases. FSA units launched counter-attacks on a number of army checkpoints."

The version of events related by those blaming rebel attackers include consistent features of the period before the government forces invaded. a coordinated rebel assault on numerous security check-points, some decisively taken, the use of mortars and/or RPGs and heavy machine guns, and attacks on certain homes. Other details vary greatly, based on what portion of the events they witnessed. Most of these accounts seem to include information they gathered from others rather than witnessing themselves. Since their checkpoint skirmishes are more connected to the invasion/attack, and are given times beyond 'earlier in the day,' they will be included below.

Otherwise there is little information for what happened prior to that in the alleged rebel attack. One alleged rebel fighter, since surrendered to the authorities and reporting his view, ('the rebel insider" here) reported one event prior even to the day. "'"[He] said that he used to accompany the gunmen and knew the details of their work, and that three days before the massacre, the gunmen had been discussing something that would happen on Friday, saying that it was something "special and big."" On the 25th “after the prayers, a unit of the fighters gathered in the northern district … beyond the checkpoint, next to the place with the clock.” He himself was with a side-group on Tripoli Street, he says. (insider)

Afternoon Killings
4 pm to 7pm: Apparent Lull in the fighting between opposition and security forces, by most accounts. Instead, the killing inside households of the Abdul Razak family, on Saad street near the water plant and the hospital, commence.

Aftermath
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reports on June 1: "Fearing for their lives, thousands fled the village while the fighting raged and took refuge in Burj al-Qa'i, a village some five kilometres east of Taldaw, and in other nearby villages. "People left everything behind as they ran for their lives," said Marianne Gasser, the head of the ICRC delegation in Syria. "Most of the displaced are women and children." Burj al-Qa'i is a village in Houla plain with barely 1,000 residents. Overnight, it found itself hosting 5,000 people who had fled Taldaw in search of safety. "Many of those who took refuge in Burj al-Qa'i ended up in schools and other public buildings, others with host families," said Ms Gasser. "There was not enough food, water and medicine for everyone, which put a great deal of pressure on the small village." Both the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent went to Houla plain this week. They provided food, water, mattresses, baby milk, medicines and other items for the displaced in Burj al-Qa'i. In addition, they installed and filled water tanks in schools and other places where displaced people are taking shelter. Some of the people who did not manage to go to Burj al-Qa'i or elsewhere stayed behind because they were injured. A team of Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteers and six doctors headed to Taldaw immediately after the events, treated dozens of people on the spot and transferred several to a hospital in Homs city."