Assad Forces Commit Another Massacre: Khirbet Al-Suda, Rural Homs

Media Note

Syrian Coalition

Istanbul, Turkey

May 16, 2013

Assad forces have attacked the village of Khirbet Suda, in rural Homs, and in yet another horrifying massacre, have murdered at least 18 people. Victims were either killed by execution at gunpoint, or slaughtered with knives. This news comes amidst concerns that Assad forces will reenter the village in the coming hours, as Khirbet Suda remains under a crippling blockade.

Reports from these besieged areas have been scarce due to a massive blackout. However, recent updates confirm that forces loyal to Assad are beginning to execute a criminal plan in the villages of rural Homs, putting the lives of thousands of civilians in grave danger.

The Syrian Coalition has issued warnings of imminent massacres in the villages surrounding Homs. We are especially concerned about isolated villages, surrounded by villages loyal to Assad. Many civilians in Assad loyal areas have been armed and brainwashed with propaganda against their brothers in neighboring villages.

The Syrian Coalition urges international human rights organizations to quickly send delegations to the village of Khirbet Suda and neighboring villages to verify these dangerous realities for themselves. We call on these organizations to act swiftly, in order to prevent further massacres. The confirmed news of a wave of military reinforcements approaching Homs, is a serious threat to the lives of civilians trapped in Homs and its surroundings.

The Syrian Coalition renews its call to the international community and the Security Council to adopt the resolution that condemns the Assad regime’s crimes, and to take effective steps to rescue civilians trapped across Syrian cities from a fate similar to those we lost in Khirbet Al-Suda.

We ask for Mercy for our martyrs, health for our wounded, and freedom for our detainees.

Long live Syria and its people, free and with honor.