{{Cite web |title= Syria: UN Inquiry Should Investigate Houla Killings |url= http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/27/syria-un-inquiry-should-investigate-houla-killings |publisher= [[Human Rights Watch]] |date= May 28, 2012 |accessdate= May 28, 2012 |archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/680EtYjMy |archivedate= May 28, 2012 |deadurl= no}}
All witnesses, i.e. residents, survivors and local activists
HRW interviewer(s)
the armed men were pro-government, but they did not know whether they were members of the Syrian army or a pro-government militia (shabeeha)
Residents and survivors
HRW
At midday on May 25 protesters gathered in Taldou
a male witness
HRW
at around 2 p.m., soldiers from an army checkpoint opened fire to disperse nearby protesters but he did not know whether anyone was injured or killed at that moment
An opposition activist from Houla
HRW
armed members of the opposition subsequently attacked the checkpoint from which the army had fired, and that the Syrian army responded by intensely shelling various neighborhoods in Houla.
One resident of Taldou
HRW
At around 2:30 p.m., the army located on the outskirts of town started shelling the neighborhood. Initially, they used tanks, but after couple of hours they started using mortars. The shelling was coming from the direction of the Air Force military college located at the entrance of Houla. Around 7:00 p.m., the shelling intensified and whole buildings were shaking. The army started firing some sort of rockets that would shake an entire area.
survivors of the attacks
HRW
At around 6:30 p.m., just as the shelling intensified on parts of Houla, armed gunmen wearing military uniforms attacked homes situated on the outskirts of town on the road leading to the Houla dam
Local activists
HRW
Gave a list of 62 dead members from the Abdel Razzak family to HRW.
survivors
HRW
the Abdel Razzak family owns the land and farms next to the national water company and the water dam of Taldou, and lives in eight or nine houses next to each other, two families to a house.
An elderly woman from the Abdel Razzak family who survived the attack
HRW
I was in the house with my three grandsons, three granddaughters, sister-in-law, daughter, daughter in-law and cousin. [On May 25] around 6:30 p.m., before sunset, we heard gunshots. I was in a room by myself when I heard the sound of a man. He was shouting and yelling at my family. I hid behind the door. I saw another man standing outside by the entrance door and another one inside the house. They were wearing military clothes. I couldn’t see their faces. I thought they wanted to search the house. They walked in the house; I didn’t hear them break in because we never lock the doors. After three minutes, I heard all my family members screaming and yelling. The children, all aged between 10 and 14, were crying. I went down on the floor and tried to crawl so I could see what was happening. As I approached the door, I heard several gunshots. I was so terrified I couldn’t stand on my legs. I heard the soldiers leaving. I looked outside the room and saw all of my family members shot. They were shot in their bodies and their head. I was terrified to approach to see if they were alive. I kept crawling until I reached the back door. I went outside, and I ran away. I was in shock so I don’t know what happened later.
A 10-year-old boy from the Abdel Razzak family
HRW
he saw men wearing military clothes shoot his 13-year-old friend:
I was at home with my mother, my cousins, and my aunt. Suddenly I heard gunshots. It was the first time I heard so many gunshots. My mother grabbed me and took me to a barn to hide. I heard men screaming and shouting. I heard people crying especially women. I looked outside the window. I was peeking sometimes but I was afraid they would see me. Men wearing [uniforms] like army soldiers, green with other colors [camouflage] and white shoes, entered our house. They went outside after a couple of minutes. Then across the street I saw my friend Shafiq, 13 years old, outside standing alone. An armed man in military uniform grabbed him and put him at the corner of a house. He took his own weapon and shot him in the head. His mother and big sister – I think she was 14 years old – went outside and started shouting and crying. The same man shot at both of them more than once. Then the armed men left and the FSA soldiers came.
The boy’s mother
HRW
confirmed many of the details
At around 6:30 – 7:00 p.m., we started hearing the sound of gunshots. They were very close to us. We ran and hid in the barn. After the armed men left, and I heard the sound of their cars driving away, my sister and I went outside. I saw Shafiq [the 13-year-old friend of her son] on the ground dead. I saw three families: three women, two of them with children. All of them were shot. Some were shot in the head and others had multiple shots in the body. One of the children survived. She is 14 years old. She was shot twice in the leg. I also saw my cousin who was shot in the chest. A 13-year-old boy who was paralyzed was shot three times in his chest as well.
{{Cite news |title= New Massacres by al-Qaeda-linked Terrorist Groups against Families in al-Shumariyeh and Taldo in Homs Countryside |author= Allafi, F.; Said, H. |url= http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2012/05/26/421559.htm |agency= [[Syrian Arab News Agency]] |date= May 26, 2012 |accessdate= May 26, 2012 |archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/67xI6XGI9 |archivedate= May 26, 2012 |deadurl= no}}
A source in the province
SANA reporter
terrorist groups from al-Qaeda perpetrated two appalling massacres against families in al-Shumariyeh village in Homs countryside in addition to committing sabotage acts on a large scale.
the terrorists brutally killed Mohammad Abdul-Nabi Abdullah, his wife and six sons in addition to the citizen Rateb al-Oulo along with his son.
other al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups in Taldo town in the province's countryside committed a massacre against al-Sayyid family killing with cold-blood Aref Mohammad al-Sayyid, his two brothers Imad and Ouqba, his wife Izdihar Ali al-Daher and three children.
The groups also committed acts of burning the citizens' houses and crops to accuse the army of bombarding the area in Taldo, in addition to sabotaging the National Hospital in the area and attacking a headquarters of law enforcement forces.
{{Cite news |title= Syria: How the Houla massacre unfolded |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-18244738 |publisher= BBC |date= May 28, 2012 |accessdate= May 29, 2012 |archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/6813vNCrK |archivedate= May 29, 2012 |deadurl= no}}
Ali (boy about 7 years old)
shown on Ugarit News
Speaking in possibly Arabic he shows how he pretended to be dead when the troops came to his house. He says there were government soldiers and militia men there. His brother and uncles were arrested, but when his mother tried to stop them they were all shot. (narrated by BBC journalist Ian Pannell)
picture of a 2-month old baby girl in bandages, her relatives quoted
unknown
She was wounded by government thugs in uniform (says BBC journalist Ian Pannell). Woman hiding her face: "This baby is my niece. They killed her mother, my sister. The thugs made us come downstairs and they started their carnage." (translators voice)
<ref name=BBC526>{{Cite news |author= Muir, Jim; Hosea, Leana |title= Syria crisis: Houla 'massacre leaves 88 dead' |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18216176 |publisher= BBC News |date= May 26, 2012 |accessdate= May 26, 2012 |archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/67xIei8bJ |archivedate= May 26, 2012 |deadurl= no}}</ref>
An activist in Houla
Associated Press
troops began the assault on Houla after an anti-regime demonstration following Muslim prayers on Friday.
The assault began with artillery shelling which killed 12, he said - but scores more were butchered when pro-regime thugs known as "shabiha" then stormed the area.
{{Cite news |title= Houla eyewitness: 'They had no mercy' |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18240460 |publisher= BBC |date= May 28, 2012 |accessdate= May 30, 2012 |archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/682mlj0FI |archivedate= May 30, 2012 |deadurl= no}}
Eyewitnesses in Houla
interviews done by BBC News, the BBC Arabic Service and the BBC World Service
(see individual accounts below)
HAMZA OMAR, opposition activist based in Houla
(see above)
"The shabiha militias attacked the houses. They had no mercy. We took pictures of children, under 10 years [old], their hands tied, and shot at close-range, from 10cm, just 10cm. By knife they cut their neck, not exactly all his neck, but they make a hole in the neck, a hole in his eyes.
RASHA ABDUL RAZAQ, survivor
(see above)
We were in the house, they went in, the Shabiha and security, they went in with Kalashnikovs and automatic rifles.
We asked them what was going on and they told us to go inside. We said: 'What is it? What do you want?'. They said: 'Take everything out, whatever you are hiding,' and we told them: 'We are not hiding anything'.
They took us to a room, and hit my father on the head with the back of a rifle and shot him straight in the chin.
They took us inside and told us to gather in the corner of the room. A man started shooting in the air so we all hid behind my mother. We were about 15 people.
Then they opened fire. After they shot us they started to step on us, and one of the men asked the other to check whether we were all dead. Then they went outside and started shooting in the air.
We were eight siblings, including myself, and my sister-in-law and her son - she was also six months pregnant. With us as well were my father, my uncle's wife and her daughter, as well as our neighbour and her three kids.
My aunt and her two daughters - one of them was only injured and she's here with me - she is one month old, the other one died. We were all in the house.
I survived with my mother and the one-month-old girl and my sister. They shot at us but we survived.
What's going to happen to us? When we hear that the army and the security is coming we start running in the streets, we are afraid they would repeat what they did to us the other day.
There were 100 houses in the neighbourhood, they killed everyone inside. They went into people's houses and opened fire and killed them all.
RASHA ABDUL RAZAQ'S MOTHER, survivor
(see above)
He [an attacker] said: 'We are from the mountain there, from Fulla,' so I said: 'We are neighbours then, we don't have any terrorists here,' and he said: 'You are the terrorists'. They thought I was dead. It was thanks to God that I survived. He was shooting my kids and yelling. Please get me and my daughter some protection - we are staying now in different people's houses. We are worried they will liquidate us.
ANONYMOUS, survivor (woman)
(see above)
We were opening our houses to them, we thought they were the army, and that they were doing inspections.
One of them told me: 'Go back inside, your turn is next'. I was with my husband and kids. So I got my husband's army service card, I thought maybe they would not bother with us when they see it. But I only survived because one of them shot another by mistake, and he yelled: 'I need help, Fakher was shot'. That kept them busy while we ran away, bullets were flying around us, from the army and the shabiha.
ANONYMOUS, survivor
(see above)
When they opened the door, I was still with them in the room. I was standing behind the door of the living room. They took my brothers outside, and I hid on the attic. All I could hear was gunfire, it felt like the whole house was shaking.
I opened the door, and I saw bodies, I couldn't recognise my kids from my brothers. It was indescribable. I have three children, I lost three children. I am shaking, I'm shaking as I'm speaking to you.
UM MOHAMMED, survivor
(see above)
We fled Friday night... They are targeting us with rockets and killing people… We fled through the plantations bombed here, bombed there. I don't know how we made it to the good people. As we walked the snipers targeted us, we hide between the plantations.
UM ABDULLAH, survivor
(see above)
Rockets and bombardments everywhere … I don't have any news of my own family. Why are you not intervening? All the corpses are piling up. If it was a foreign country all countries would have intervened. Come and remove all these corpses from the streets.
AKRAMA BAKOUR, Free Syrian Army, Houla
(see above)
There were two massacres. The first happened on the Sadd road and started at around 2:30pm on Friday afternoon.
The second massacre happened around 11pm, on the road at the main entrance of Taldou, facing the military security point.
On the Fulla-Taldou road - 500m to 700m from Fulla village - this village is supportive of the regime - a van, two pickup trucks and a group of motorcycles came from that village.
They entered the neighbourhood, and met a shepherd at the entrance. His name is Mahmoud al-Kurdi, and he was with his daughter-in-law and his four grandsons. They shot them, killing them all except the daughter-in-law. She was shot in the thigh and belly area but she is still alive.
They then entered the house of Samir Abdul Razaq. He was killed with his children - Sawsan, Houda, Jouzila and Nada. And his daughter-in-law Halloum El Khlaf, six months pregnant, with her son Ala'a Abdul Razaq, and Samir's sister-in-law Khaloud El Khalaf, and her daughter, Rahaf Al Hussein - but her daughter Zahra Al Hussein was shot twice but survived.
Samir's wife was hit with the back of the rifles but she fainted and is now still alive. Also among the victims in this house were four kids whose father is Fadi al-Kurdi.
The next house they entered was the house of Qutayba Abdul Razaq, he survived and his one-year-old daughter was injured. He lost his wife and five of his children.
All of those I'm counting died by gunshots, direct fire. They were gathered in one room and shot. There was one kid however whose head was skinned with a knife. The knife was found among the bodies and we have its picture.
The third house belongs to Nidal Abdul Razaq, his wife and four of his children were killed, and he and one of his children are still alive.
Adel Abdul Razaq - his whole family, a wife and six children.
Mustafa Abdul Razaq was killed with his four daughters, his wife and his daughter in law.
Ayman Abdul Razaq - all of his six children were killed as was his wife, one of the children was disabled.
Abdul Khalek Abdul Razaq - his wife and daughter survived gun shots but he lost six other children and his daughter-in-law and her three children.
Abdul Rahman Abdul Razaq lost his wife, his five daughters and 11 grandchildren as well as his six daughters-in-law and four of his sons. He still has two who are still alive; one is called Firas and the other Rateb. This massacre was of 27 people in the same room.
Also killed in the massacre were Yaacoub Hussein Abdul Razaq, Mohammad Shafiq Abdul Razaq, Mohammad Abbara and his daughter Amina and her family of seven.
{{Cite news |url= http://blogs.channel4.com/alex-thomsons-view/searing-grief-houlas-survivors/1739 |title= The searing grief of Houla's Survivors |author= Thomson, Alex |date= May 30, 2012 |publisher= Channel 4 News |accessdate=May 30, 2012 |archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/683M9ODri |archivedate= May 30, 2012 |deadurl= no}}
25-year-old Younis
Channel 4 reporter
lying in a room with two gunshot wounds in his torso. He’s telling us, weakly, how he was trying to help an 11-year-old boy on Friday when he was injured. The boy was shot dead.
A 15-year-old girl
Channel 4 reporter
lies on another bed not 10 yards away describing how she witnessed the Shabiya militia crouching behind a window as she tried to flee. She too was shot.
Abdul Bari, 30
Channel 4 reporter
describes how he came by blast wounds during the protest after prayers on Friday.
man […], educated with good English. He has gone through the emotions to reach cold, measured anger. Over the next three hours I will deliberately ask him the same question to see if his story alters in any detail. It does not. He is willing to be interviewed and identified on camera. But to protect him we do not do this. Channel 4 News knows his name and full identity.
Channel 4 reporter
He describes how there was intense shelling of the ground for several hours. After that the Shabiya – armed militia – entered the town from the southern to south western direction. He says there were around 100 of them dressed in military uniforms. They approached Dam Road which connects the large reservoir to the Houla villages. He says – and all agree – these men were Shia and Alawite who had come from specific Shia/Alawite villages to the south and west of Houla.
He names several villages and later we are taken to a rooftop where we can see those villages from the overwhelmingly Sunni town of Houla.
Two names come up time and again – Kabu and Felleh. They are so close, not more than two or three mile as the most. He goes on describing how the killers had written Shia slogans on their foreheads as they went house to house searching out and slaughtering Sunni families.
He says to us: “They have slaughtered us, they have killed us. When this is all over we will be victorious. And we will go there. And we will find them out and we will slaughter them and we will kill them. We will kill their men, women and children as they killed our men, women and children.”
(relating to previous witness testimony) scores of people
Channel 4 reporter
over the next five hours we spend in Houla, scores of people will corroborate his story in various details.
an elderly man, Abdul Hamad
Channel 4 reporter
who knows not only that his daughter was killed but that her throat was hacked with a knife, it seems, wielded by men who live just a few miles distant.
