Activists in northern rural Homs warned of possible massacres the Assad regime might commit against residents of the predominantly Turkmen villages of Qazhal and Um Alqasab after fighters of the Free Syrian Army and their families left the two villages towards the town of Aldar Alqabira north of Homs.
The activists pointed out that regime forces have encircled the two villages following the withdrawal of the FSA fighters under a deal with the Assad regime, warning of a possible massacre by regime forces after storming the two villages.
Residents of the two villages, estimated at 8,000, fear a repeat of the horrible massacres regime forces committed in the nearby villages of Alhaswiya and Alhoula in 2012. Back then, paramilitary militiamen, known as the shabeeha, backed by regime forces stormed the two villages and committed one of the most heinous massacres since the Syrian revolution began in 2011. Scenes of small kids with slit throats and bodies torched still haunt the residents of the area.
Vice-president of the Syrian Coalition Muwaffaq Nyrbiah warned of imminent massacres regime forces might commit in the villages of Qazhal and Um Alqasab, calling on the international community to take immediate action in order to protect unarmed civilians in these two villages.
Nyrabiya said that the Assad regime reneged on a previous agreement with the FSA fighters whereby they were allowed to retain presence in the two villages if they stopped attacks on regime positions in the area. He added that this incident is a reminder of the Assad regime’s deceit and disrespect of all agreements and deals.
The local council in the town of Aldar Alqabira, meanwhile, sent an urgent appeal to the International Committee of the Red Cross, ​​the Red Crescent, civil society organizations and charities working in the area to act urgently to meet the needs of nearly 4,000 people who arrived in the town from the villages of Qazhal and Um Alqasab. (Source: Syrian Coalition)
