Al-Bayda, Tartus Governorate

al-Bayda
البيضاء
al-Beida
Village
al-Bayda
Coordinates: 35°7′30″N 35°56′55″E / 35.12500°N 35.94861°E
Country  Syria
Governorate Tartus
District Baniyas
Subdistrict Baniyas
Elevation 149 m (488 ft)
Population (2004)[1]
 • Total 5,783
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)

Al-Bayda (Arabic: البيضاء‎, also spelled al-Beida) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Tartus Governorate, located north of Tartus. Nearby localities include Baniyas to the north, Kharibah to the east and Maten al-Sahel to the south. It is situated just east of the Mediterranean coast. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Bayda had a population of 5,783 in the 2004 census, making it the second largest locality in the Baniyas nahiyah ("subdistrict") after the city of Baniyas.[1] The inhabitants al-Bayda are predominantly Sunni Muslims,[2] and together with Baniyas, Basatin al-Assad and Marqab, the villages form a Sunni-inhabited area amid the largely Alawite-inhabited heartland.[3]

During the Syrian civil war, al-Bayda fell under the control of anti-Assad elements. In May 2013 the village was subjected to government bombardment that reportedly left over 100 dead, including the town's mayor and his family.[4] According to main opposition group, a massacre took place on 2 May, committed by government and pro-government forces.[5] "Syrian troops, backed by gunmen from nearby Alawite villages, swept into the village, torched homes and used knives, guns and blunt objects to kill people in the streets."[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Idlib Governorate. (Arabic)
  2. ↑ Rosen, Nir. Assad's Alawites: An entrenched community. Al Jazeera English. 2011-10-12.
  3. ↑ Holliday, Joseph. The Assad Regime: From Counterinsurgency to Civil War. Middle East Security Report 8. Institute for the Study of War. March 2013.
  4. ↑ Mourtada, Hania and Rick Gladstone. "Syrian Forces Strike Rebels in Wide-Ranging Assaults." The New York Times. May 3, 2013. Accessed May 3, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/world/middleeast/syria.html?_r=0
  5. ↑ BBC News, 28 May 2013
  6. ↑ Surk, Barbara. Assad regime accused of massacre of 50 Sunni villagers. The Independent. 2013-05-04.