Houla

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For the town in Lebanon, see Hula, Lebanon.

The Houla Region or Houla Plain (Arabic: الحولة‎ al-Ḥūlāh) is an area consisting of three villages in the Homs Governorate of central Syria, northwest of the city of Homs. The villages, Taldou, Kafr Laha and Tell Dahab each have 25–30,000 inhabitants.[1] The settlement is essentially a Sunni Muslim town surrounded by Alawite villages.[2] Many of the inhabitants of the Houla village cluster are of Turkoman descent.[3]

Houla was described by 19th-century English scholar Eli Smith as a low-lying tract of land situated at the eastern slope of the al-Ansariyah mountains.[4] One of the villages, Taldou,[5] is located in the outskirts of Houla.[6] The biggest village in the Houla region had over 20,000 inhabitants in 2004 and is called Kafr Laha, (Arabic: كفرلاها‎).[7]

The 13th-century Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi visited al-Houla in 1226 during Ayyubid rule noting that the place belonged to Jund Hims ("military district of Homs").[8]

In May 2012, the two villages Taldou and al-Shoumarieh[9] were the location of a major massacre of civilians and continued fighting between the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian military.[5][6]

References

  1. ↑ Musin, Marat; Kulygina, Olga; Chossudovsky, Michel (editing) (June 1, 2012). "THE HOULA MASSACRE: Opposition Terrorists "Killed Families Loyal to the Government"". Voltaire Network. Archived from the original on June 3, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2012. 
  2. ↑ Lyons, John (June 1, 2012). "Syria's deadly dynasty". The Australian. Retrieved June 9, 2012. 
  3. ↑ Hartmann, 2012, p. 54.
  4. ↑ Smith, 1841, p. 179.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Shelling of Houla area in Syria reportedly kills at least 90". Los Angeles Times. 26 May 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2012. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Anger In Syria After Ceasefire 'Massacre'". Sky News. May 26, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2012. 
  7. ↑ "2004 General Census". Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2012-05-27. 
  8. ↑ le Strange, Guy (1890). Palestine Under the Moslems. Palestine Exploration Fund. p. 455. 
  9. ↑ "Syria: Armed Terrorist Groups committed Taldao, al-Shoumarieh Massacres". DP News. May 29, 2012. Archived from the original on May 30, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012. 

Bibliography

Coordinates: 34°53′7″N 36°30′42″E / 34.88528°N 36.51167°E / 34.88528; 36.51167

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