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Siege of Hama (2011)

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Not to be confused with 1982 Hama massacre.
2011–2012 Hama clashes
Part of the 2011–2012 Syrian uprising
Date15 March 2011 onward
Location
Hama, Syria
Result

Ongoing

  • Some activists claim that the FSA took control of some Hama neighbourhoods
  • Street fighting in February 2012
Belligerents

Syrian National Council

Syria Syrian Army
Commanders and leaders
Col.Muhammad al Abdulbaher Valledi al Zekah
Strength
2,000 FSA soldiers [citation needed] 5,000-8,000 [citation needed]
Casualties and losses
707+ combatants[1] 68 security forces members killed[2][3] [4][5] [6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Anti-government protests and violent clashes have been ongoing in the Syrian city of Hama since 15 March 2011, when large protests were first reported in the city.[13] Similar violence has been ongoing elsewhere in Syria as part of the wider 2011–2012 Syrian uprising. This article is an overview of the violence in Hama. Anti-government activists have described the situation in the city as a "siege"[14] or "blockade".[15]

During protests on 3 June, protesters were targeted by the secret police and military forces, and more than 50 people were killed and hundreds injured.[16] On 1 July, with more than 400,000 protestors, Hama witnessed the largest demonstration against Bashar al-Assad.[17] Two days later, Syrian tanks deployed at Hama[18] in an operation that led to more than 20 civilian deaths at the hands of Syrian security forces, and two rapes were witnessed.[19]

On 31 July, the government of Syria sent the Syrian army into Hama to control protests on the eve of Ramadan, as part of a nationwide crackdown, nicknamed the Ramadan Massacre.[20] At least 142 people across Syria died on that day, including over 100 in Hama alone, and 29 in Deir ez-Zor. Hundreds more have been wounded.[21][22] By 4 August, more than 200 civilians had been killed in Hama.[23]

By late January 2012 activists said that four neighbourhoods in Hama were under opposition control.[24]

Background

Main articles: 1964 Hama riot, April 1981 Hama massacre, and Hama massacre

Hama has been the epicenter of Syrian uprisings since the very event of the 1963 Ba'athist coup. As early as 1964, a wide scale riot, often described as uprising, broke out in the city, and was violently suppressed by the military, resulting in more than 70 citizens killed. Violence occurred once again during the 1976–1982 Islamic uprising in Syria, when hundreds of Hama citizens were executed in the April 1981 crackdown, whereas in February 1982, a much larger scale massacre took place in Hama, following an armed and organized uprising of Islamic groups, centered in the city. The 1982 Hama massacre claimed the lives of some 10,000 - 25,000 Hama citizens and Islamic militants and as many as 1,000 Syrian Army personnel.

History

Prelude

Major disturbances in Hama began on 3 June 2011, primarily in the city center, and on occasion in the suburbs. The Syrian security forces shot dead up to 25 people when they dispersed a demonstration by tens of locals in the city of Hama on Friday 3 June 2011.[25]

On 1 July 2011, with more than 400,000 protestors, Hama witnessed the largest demonstration against Bashar al-Assad.[17] Soon after, Assad sacked Hama's governor.[26] Two days after, Syrian tanks deployed at Hama,[18] in an operation that led to more than 20 civilians killed by the Syrian security forces and two rape cases were witnessed.[19]

January

Nine protesters in Hama were killed by security forces gunfire on 7 January 2012.[27]

The siege

A map of Syria with Hama (مُحافظة حماه) Governorate highlighted.
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As the city of Hama became one of the main opposition centers of the popular uprising, taking place in Syria, Hama turned into a focal point of growing violence. An armed blockade was imposed on the city on 3 July.[17]

July

On 6 July, a surprising step was taken by the US ambassador, Robert Ford, when he visited Hama and declared that he will stay there till Friday. Syria reacted with anger with this visit.[28] On 8 July, more than 500,000[29] Syrians flooded through the city of Hama, according to activists, in what they claim was the single biggest protest yet against the embattled government of President Bashar al-Assad. Demonstrators in Hama have received the US ambassadors with flowers to express their gratitude of the visit and to reach their voices to the world.

JJ Harder, the press attaché of the US embassy in Damascus, later told Al Jazeera: "Our ambassador Robert Ford was in Hama earlier this month, and he saw with his own eyes the violence that they are talking about. There was none. He maybe saw one teenager with a stick at a checkpoint, and the government is going on with these absolute fabrications about armed gangs running the streets of Hama and elsewhere. Hama has shown itself to be a model of peaceful protest. That was why our ambassador chose to go there."[30]

The French ambassador joined the US one on that day to show the French support to the victims.[31]

7 July had seen both the French and American ambassadors to Syria toured some of the nation’s hotspots. The American ambassador Robert Ford, had travelled, with the French ambassador Éric Chevallier to the city of Hama in what Robert Ford said was a gesture of solidarity with local protesters there.[17][32][33][34][35]

On 8 July, more tanks were deployed around the outskirts of Hama, as part of a strengthening blockade, following protests involving an estimated 500,000 people the previous weekend.[35] It has been estimated that up to 350,000 of the city's 700,000 population have taken part in many of the protests[36]

Over 500,000 citizens had rallied in the city on 29 July, following Muslim prayers in which a pro-rebel cleric told the congregation "the regime must go".[37]Local support for the Assad regime had imploded by 30 July in both Homs, Deir ez-Zor and Hama.[37][38][39] President Assad sent his "Terror Buses" packed with private Alawite militia and party loyalists into Hama on 30 July.[40]

Ramadan Massacre by Carlos Latuff.

On the eve of Ramadan, Syria witnessed the bloodiest day in its 139-day uprising against the single-party regime, in which the Alawi-run government has allegedly targeted Sunni, Druze and Christian groups from across the country.[38]

Abdel Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory For Human Rights said on 31 July that Syrian security forces launched an offensive at 5:00 am (0200 GMT) on Muadhamiya, to the north, then encircled Hama shortly afterwards.[41]

In a separate incident on the same day, political prisoners attempted to mutiny in Hama's central prison, to which security forces responded with live ammunition. The death toll in the prison is unknown.[42] The state news agency reported that eight policemen were killed in clashes in Hama.[43]

The government has blamed much of the violence on terrorists and militants, who it says have killed hundreds of security personnel.[44] At least 136 people have died, over 100 in Hama alone, and 19 in Deir ez-Zor. Hundreds more have been wounded. The crackdown was the most intense of the 2011 Syrian uprising thus far, with over 2200 protesters dead since 15 March.[16][45][46]

One Hama resident, a doctor who did not want to be identified for fear of arrest, told Reuters that tanks were attacking Hama from four different directions and "firing randomly". Another resident said snipers had climbed onto the roofs of the state-owned electricity company and the main prison, and that electricity had been cut in eastern neighbourhoods.[30] Syrian government tanks also fired on mosques where the loudspeakers broadcast, "Allah Akbar".[47]

A United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Syria was proposed by Russia and the Security Council met on the night of 31 July to debate the situation in Syria.[39]

Syrian dissidents claimed that the tank assault on Hama on 31 July, in which 84 people had died, was an attempt to pacify and regain control of the city ahead of Ramadan and to avert protests during the holy month.[48]

August

Syrian security forces continued to bombard Hama on 1 August. Many of Hama's residents braved the obvious danger to head to mosques for dawn prayers. As they emerged onto the streets, the shelling resumed. Three worshipers were struck down and killed, while a fourth was shot dead by a sniper as he got into his car, opposition activists said. Tank shells struck residential buildings in the suburbs of al-Qousour and Al-Hamidiya. "The tanks are firing at random," one resident said. "They don't care who they hit. The aim seems to be to kill and terrify as many people as possible."[39] "The number of those wounded is huge and hospitals cannot cope, particularly because we lack the adequate equipment," said Hama hospital worker, Dr Abdel Rahman.[37] "It seems strange that the international community seems to care less about the people of Hama than the people of Benghazi," said Omar, a rebel activist in Damascus.[38] The death toll in Hama and Homs was reportedly ’slightly enlarged’ according to the local governorate's sources.[49] Government tanks also moved in on the eastern town of Albu Kamal. In the nearby city of Deir al-Zour, had witnessed upwards to 29 over that weekend.[38][38]

Activists and witnesses said at least 24 civilians were killed in attacks on several cities, including Hama, on 1 August.[44] Later that day, The European Union imposed travel bans on five more military and government officials and extended sanctions against Assad's government, including Syrian Defence Minister Ali Habib Mahmud.[39][44]

The UN’s security council met to discuss the situation in Syria on 2 August. The US, UK and France wanted to formally condemn Syria, but Russia and China were afraid that "it could be used as a pretext for military intervention in Syria".[50][51]

On 2 August, Syrian dissident Radwan Ziadeh asked US President Barack Obama and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to demand President Bashar al-Assad to step down.[52]


By the morning 3 August 2011, the city was under nearly continuous gunfire since the early hours of the morning and by midday Syrian army tanks stormed through rebel’s barricades in city of Hama, occupying a central square. A post on the Syrian Revolution Facebook page read "The army is now stationed in Assi Square," and "The heroic youths of Hama are confronting them and banning them from entering neighborhoods."[53] The water, electricity and all communications in Hama and its surrounding villages and towns had been cut off, according to nearby online posts on social networking sites.[53] The accounts could not be independently confirmed because the Syrian government banned foreign journalists from entering the country to report.[53] Shaam, an online video channel that is aligned to the protest movement, posted a video dated 3 August that showed at least one tank attacking a neighbourhood that the narrator said was Hayy al-Hader in Hama; heavy plumes of smoke could be seen rising in the sky.[53]

On 3 August, following the attacks, workers in Hama declared three days of general strike in memory of those killed by security forces.[54]

The town’s pro-democracy movement, the Local Coordination Committee, had emailed a statement saying that shelling was especially concentrated in the Janoub al-Mala’ab and Manakh districts. The group also claimed in the E-mail that civilians were being shot and houses shelled.[53] Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory For Human Rights, warned that "We might be witnessing another massacre in Hama."[53]

Russia’s Foreign Ministry's Middle East and North Africa Department chief, Sergei Vershinin, reminded the UN that his country was not "categorically" against adopting a UN resolution condemning the violence in Syria, but the Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister, Faisal Mekdad urged India to ignore Western "propaganda" if there was a vote over it in the Security Council.[55]

A total of 200 were killed in Hama by 4 August.[23]

September

The Attorney General of the Hama Governate announced his resignation on 1 September in response to the government crackdown on protests. The government claimed he had been kidnapped and forced to lie at gunpoint.[56]

November

By 17 November, the protests seemed to have calmed down, and the city was under government control. The streets were still littered with burnt out vehicles and police checkpoints were dotted around the city, despite the return to relative clam[57] However, the same day, security forces carried out raids on homes looking for military defectors and made arrests.[58]

December

On 9 December, Hama saw the largest anti government protests in the city since August.[59]

At least six members of the security forces were reported killed in Hama on 11 December in clashes with the opposition. Syrian authorities claimed to have arrested a suspected terrorist who was trying to plant a bomb near a residential building.[5] There were also reports that several civilians had been shot, although it was not specified whether they were wounded or killed.[60]

Loyalist soldiers reportedly fired upon a civilian car on 14 December, killing five people, in response, the Free Syrian Army staged an ambush against a loyalist convoy consisting of four jeeps, killing eight soldiers.[6]

Pro Assad forces stormed the city on 14 December in an effort to put down the protests, resulting in at least ten civilian fatalities. Clashes broke out when the Free Syrian Army attempted to halt the incursion, and at least two armoured vehicles were disabled by the rebels during a battle at Hadid Bridge.[61] Activists said that tanks opened fire with machineguns and troops burnt shops that adhered to the oppositions strike.[7]

Soldiers shot six protests to death, on 29 December, as Arab Leauge monitors arrived in the city.[62]

2012

January

On 7 January 2012, Colonel Afeef Mahmoud Suleima of the Syrian Air Force logistics division defected from Bashar Al Assads regime along with at least fifty of his men, and announced his defection on live television and ordered his men to protect protesters in the city of Hama.

"We are from the army and we have defected because the government is killing civilian protesters. The Syrian army attacked Hama with heavy weapons, air raids and heavy fire from tanks...We ask the Arab League observers to come visit areas affected by air raids and attacks so you can see the damage with your own eyes, and we ask you to send someone to uncover the three cemetaries in Hama filled with more than 460 corpses." Colonel Suleima said in a statement..[63]

On 25 January, Syrian army troops raided opposition controlled districts Bab Qebli, Hamidiyeh and Malaab killing at least 7 people, reportedly using artillery and sniper fire in the process.[64]

At least 17 bodies were found with bullet wounds to the head on 28 January, which activists claim had been caused by Pro government forces when they launched an armoured raid into the city. At least one of those executed was a police deserter.[65]

February

According to Reuters, five government troops were killed "in clashes with rebel fighters in Qalaat al-Madyaq town in restive Hama area".[66]

According to activists, 10 FSA fighters were killed by the Syrian army in Kfar Nabuda in the Hama province. [67]

International reactions

See also: International reactions to the 2011 Syrian uprising

Supranational organisations

  •  UN The Security Council passed a resolution that "condemns widespread violations of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities." on 4 August.
  •  European Union The European Union imposed travel bans on five more military and government officials and extended sanctions against Mr Assad's ruling clique on 1 August.[68]

States

  •  Germany -The chairman of the German government's committee on foreign relations declared that there should be a global boycott of Syrian gas and oil exports with the aim to pressure Syria into ending its violence against protesters.[69] Meanwhile, on the same day (8 August), a German government spokesman declared that if Assad continues to reject dialogue and resort to violence, the Syrian government will lose its legitimacy.[70]
  •  Italy – Foreign Minister Franco Frattini called the events in Hama "a horrible act of violent repression against protesters."[71]
  •  Russia - On 1 August, the Kremlin, which has been a Syrian ally, in the person of President Dmitri A. Medvedev strongly condemned the regime's actions in Hama, calling them "unacceptable."[68]
  •  Turkey - President Abdullah Gül expressed horror over Syrian security forces' use of heavy weapons, including tanks, to quell civilian protests. "It's impossible to remain silent in the face of events visible to everyone. I urge the Syrian administration to stop violence against people and to carry out reforms to build the country's future on the base of peace and stability. We cannot remain silent and accept a bloody atmosphere," Gül said.[73]
  •  UK - A press release from the British Prime Minister’s office requested that President Bashar-al Assad 'should reform or step aside' on the noon of 1 August.[74]
Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the attack later that day,[75] but said that that any military action was not even "a remote possibility" and "There is no prospect of a legal, morally sanctioned military intervention".[68]
  •  United States – President Barack Obama said the reports from Hama were horrifying and demonstrated the true character of the Syrian regime. "Once again, President Assad has shown that he is completely incapable and unwilling to respond to the legitimate grievances of the Syrian people," he said. He said he was appalled by the government's use of "violence and brutality against its own people".[76] President Obama also vowed to diplomatically isolate president Bashar al-Assad as various human rights groups said that Syrian forces killed nearly 140 people in Syria on 31 July, including 100 when the army stormed the flashpoint city of Hama.[77]

See also

References

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