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List of massacres in Syria - Wikipedia

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The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in Syria.

Name Date Location Deaths Perpetrators Notes
Massacre of the Telal 1517 Aleppo 9,400 [1] Turkish soldiers upon Selim I's order Fatwas issued against the Nusayris (or 'Alawites') that declared them infidels. Around 9,400 Nusayris who assembled in Aleppo were all executed.[2]
Tafas massacre 27 September 1918 Tafas 250 Ottoman Empire Massacre from the retreating Ottoman Army against arabic civilians

Syrian Republic/Arab Republic

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Name Date Location Deaths Perpetrators Notes
1947 Aleppo pogrom December 1947 Aleppo 75 Syrian state and Arab population of Aleppo Half the city's Jewish population fled.
1949 Menarsha synagogue bombing August 5, 1949 Damascus 13 Arab Redemption Suicide Phalange Attackers threw grenades into the synagogue during Shabbat services, killing 13 (including 8 children) and wounding 32.[3]

Syrian Arab Republic

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Muslim Brotherhood Uprising in Syria

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Name Date Location Deaths Perpetrators Notes
Aleppo Artillery School massacre 16 June 1979 Aleppo 83-110 Muslim Brotherhood of Syria (Fighting Vanguard) The Fighting Vanguard, led by an officer on duty in the Artillery School, infiltrated the school and committed a sectarian massacre of Alawite army cadets.
Jisr al-Shughour massacre (1980) 9 March 1980 Jisr al-Shughour 150–200 Ba'athist Syria Syrian Army violently suppresses of Islamist insurrection through shelling and summary executions.
Siege of Aleppo (1980) 1 April 1980 – February 1981 Aleppo 1,000–2,000 Syrian Army Multiple massacres over a period of time, including in clashes, summary executions, or at random. The Muslim Brotherhood also killed an estimated 300 people in assasinations and terrorist attacks targeting Ba'athist government employees, military officers, and civilians.
Tadmor Prison massacre 27 June 1980 Palmyra 500–1,000 Ba'athist Defense Companies In retaliation for an attempted assasination of Hafez al-Assad by the Muslim Brotherhood, Rifaat Al-Assad and his Defense Companies summarily executed hundreds of prisoners affiliated with the Brotherhood in Tadmor prison.
1981 Hama massacre April 1981 Hama 400 Ba'athist Syria Members of the male population rounded up and executed.
1981 Damascus car bomb attacks August 1981 – November, 1981 Damascus "hundreds" Muslim Brotherhood of Syria Three car bomb attacks in the Syrian capital killed "hundreds", according to Syrian state media.[4] The deaths included members of the UN Disengagement Observer Force.[5]
1982 Hama massacre February 1982 Hama Estimates vary.[6][7] 2,000[8]–40,000[9] Syrian Army & Defense Companies Siege, bombardment, summary executions and forced disappearances in the Syrian city of Hama, then under the control of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Name Date Location Deaths Perpetrators Notes
December 2011 Jabal al-Zawiya massacres 19–20 December 2011 Jabal Zawiya 120 Syrian Army 120 Syrian Army defectors allegedly massacred by the government.
Karm al-Zeitoun massacre 9 March 2012 Karm al-Zeitoun, Homs 47 Syrian Army Syrian Army reportedly massacred 47 people after entering Karm al-Zeitoun.[10]
Taftanaz massacre 5 April 2012 Taftanaz, Idlib Governorate 62 Syrian Army Syrian Army reportedly carried out a massacre by rounding up and executing people following the Battle of Taftanaz.[11][12]
Houla massacre 25 May 2012 Houla 108 Disputed (see notes) 49 children among the dead. Various international media outlets reported that the Syrian government had committed the massacre based on witness/survivor testimonies.[13] The UN concluded that Syrian government forces were responsible.[14] However, after eye witness accounts published by German paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Russian-affiliated outlet ANNA News gave contradicting accounts, claiming that it was the rebels who committed the massacre, and that the victims' families were warned by the rebels not to speak freely and publicly about the event.[15] UNHRC later concluded that there was insufficient evidence to determine who had committed the massacre.[16]
Al-Buwaida al-Sharqiya massacre 31 May 2012 Al-Buwaida al-Sharqiya 13 Syrian government forces According to sources, 13 factory workers had been rounded up and shot dead by pro-government forces.[17]
Al-Qubair massacre 6 June 2012 Al-Qubair, in Maarzaf 80–100 Syrian Army Victims were stabbed and shot.[18]
Daret Azzeh massacre 22 June 2012 Darat Izza 25 Rebels Rebels claim to have killed 25 men who they accused of being a part of the Shabbiha.[19][20]
Siege of Hama 31 July – 4 August 2012 Hama 100–200 Syrian Army Syrian government forces assaulted the city of Hama to crack down on the opposition, leading to the deaths of up to 200 civilians.[21]
Darayya massacre 20–25 August 2012 Darayya, Rif Dimashq 320[22]–500[23] Syrian Army Many people were killed in a five-day Army assault on the town, which the rebel army had surrendered .[10] According to the opposition, Human Rights Watch and some local residents the killings were committed by the Syrian military and Shabiha militiamen.[24] According to the government and some local residents they were committed by rebel forces.[25]
Maarrat Al-Nu'man massacre 8 – 13 October 2012 Maarrat al-Nu'man 65 Syrian Army During the Battle of Maarrat Al-Nu'man, the Syrian Army reportedly executed 65 people,[26] including 50 defecting soldiers.[27]
Aqrab massacre 11 December 2012 Aqrab, Hama Governorate 125—300 (Includes wounded) Rebels An Alawite village attacked by Syrian rebels with bombs.[28]
Basatin al-Hasawiya massacre 15 January 2013 Homs 106 Syrian Army Syrian government troops stormed the village of Basatin al-Hasawiya on the outskirts of Homs city reportedly killing 106 civilians.[29]
Queiq River massacre 29 January–14 March 2013 Queiq River, Aleppo 147–230 Syrian Army Between 29 January and 14 March 2013, opposition activists claimed that they found about 230 bodies on the banks and in the Queiq river in Aleppo. They accused government forces of being the ones who executed the men since the bodies came down the river from the direction of government-held areas of the city. Human Rights Watch was able to identify at least 147 victims, all male and aged between 11 and 64.[30]
Tadamon massacre 16 April 2013 Tadamon, Damascus, Syria 41-280+ Syrian Army The Tadamon massacre happened in April 2013 in the Tadamon district of Damascus during the Syrian civil war. Syrian soldiers from Military Intelligence 227 killed 41 civilians near the Ottoman Mosque. The victims were executed individually and buried in mass graves.[31][32]
Battle of Jdaidet al-Fadl 16–21 April 2013 Rif Dimashq 100–300 Syrian Army Syrian Army was accused by the opposition of carrying out a massacre. SOHR claimed that 250 people were killed since the start of the battle, with them being able to document, by name, 127 of the dead, including 27 rebels. Another opposition claim put the death toll at 450.[33][34][35] One activist source claimed he counted 98 bodies in the town's streets and 86 in makeshift clinics who were summarily executed. Another activist stated they documented 85 people who were executed, including 28 who were killed in a makeshift hospital.[36]
Bayda and Baniyas massacres 2–3 May 2013 Bayda and Baniyas, Tartus Governorate 128–450 Alawite militias Assault by Alawite militias against the local Sunni population.[37][38]
Hatla massacre 11 June 2013 Hatla, Deir el-Zour 60 Rebels Shiite villagers killed by Syrian rebels.
Khan al-Assal massacre 22 July 2013 Khan al-Asal, Aleppo 51-123+ Rebels Rebels executed 51–123 POWs and Civilians.[39]
Alawite villages of Latakia countryside massacres 4 August 2013 Latakia Governorate 190+ Rebels Rebel groups, al-Nusra Front, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, Ahrar al-Sham and Suqour al-Ezz, attacked and overran army positions in the Sheikh Nabhan area. Human Rights Watch claimed some 190 noncombatants were killed, and 200 were captured and remained missing.[40]
Ghouta chemical attack 21 August 2013 Al-Ghouta, Damascus, Syria 281[41]–1,729 [42] Syrian Army Syrian activists reported that government forces struck Jobar, Zamalka, 'Ain Tirma, and Hazzah in the Eastern Ghouta region with chemical weapons.
Adra massacre 6 December 2013 Adra, Syria 32–80 Rebels This was the alleged massacre of at least 32 civilians in the industrial town of Adra, Syria. Government claims that at least 80 were killed.[43] It was reportedly conducted by the al-Nusra Front and Jaysh al-Islam, a subgroup of the Islamic Front.[44][45]
Maan massacre 9 February 2014 Hama Governorate 21–62 Rebels Targeting the Alawite village of Maan.
Shu'aytat massacre Mid August 2014 Deir ez-Zor Governorate 900+  Islamic State In mid August Islamic State fighters massacred some 900 people, mostly men, of the Shu'aytat tribe in Deir ez-Zor Governorate.[46]
Eshtabraq massacre 25 April 2015 Eshtabraq, Idlib Governorate 200+ Al-Nusra Front After Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamist allies in the "Army of Conquest" seized Jisr al-Shughour, they attacked an Alawite village named Eshtabraq and committed the massacre.[47]
Palmyra massacre 22 May 2015 Tadmur, Homs Governorate 400+  Islamic State After capturing the city of Palmyra, Islamic State massacred over 400 civilians[48]
Qalb Loze massacre 10 June 2015 Idlib Governorate 23+ Al-Nusra Front On 10 June al-Nusra massacred a Druze community in the village from Qalb lawza in Idlib province [49]
Kafr Saghir massacre 20 March 2016 Kafr Saghir, Aleppo Governorate 20+  Islamic State Islamic State massacred 20+ Arabs and Kurds while attacking the Government held town of Kafr Saghir [50]
Zara'a massacre 12 May 2016 Hama Governorate 49+ Al-Nusra Front and Ahrar Al-Sham Rebels led by the Al-Qaeda branch Jabhat al-Nusra and Ahrar ash-Sham massacred 42 civilians and seven NDF militiamen while kidnapping up to 70 people after taking control of the Alawite village of Zara'a in Southern Hama.[51][52]
May 2016 Jableh and Tartus bombings 23 May 2016 Jableh and Tartus, Latakia Governorate 189  ISIS Series of car bomb and suicide attacks in government-controlled territory that hosts Russian military bases.
Khan Shaykhun chemical attack 4 April 2017 Khan Shaykhun 89–100+ Syrian Arab Air Force
Al-Rashideen massacre 15 April 2017 Aleppo Governorate 126+ Rebels A suicide bombing targeted a convoy of buses in the Al-Rashideen suburb of Aleppo carrying civilian evacuees from the besieged Shiite villages of Kafriya and al-Fu'ah near Idlib, mostly women and children.[53] The rebel group Ahrar Al-Sham denied responsibility.[54]
Douma chemical attack 7 April 2018 Douma, Syria 48–85 Syrian Armed Forces[55]
2018 As-Suwayda attacks 25 July 2018 As-Suwayda 258  Islamic State A series of bombings and mass shootings that targeted the Druze population of As-Suwayda.
The Baghuz strike 18 March 2019 Baghuz ~70 United States United States Air Force American F-15E attack jet dropped a 500-pound bomb on large group of women and children huddled at river bank near a dirt field in the town of Baghuz. A jet tracking them then dropped two 2,000-pound bombs on the remaining survivors, killing them all. [56]
Ma'arrat Nu'man market bombing 22 July 2019 Maarrat al-Numan, Idlib Governorate 43 Russian Air Force
Qah missile strike 20 November 2019 Qah 15 Syria Syrian Arab Army
Iran Iranian militias in Syria
2023 Homs drone strike 5 October 2023 Homs Military Academy, Homs 95+ Unknown Syrian military graduation ceremony at the Homs Military Academy was targeted by a drone strike, leaving 95 people dead and over 277 injured
Majdal Shams attack 27 July 2024 Majdal Shams, Israeli-occupied Golan Heights 12  Hezbollah (according to UNIFIL, Israel and the US)
 Israel (according to Hezbollah and Syria) 		Twelve people, all children, are killed in rocket strikes on the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights
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