1981 Hama massacre

The 1981 Hama massacre occurred, according to one report, after a failed attack by armed Islamist guerillas on a security checkpoint near an Alawite village near Hama. As a revenge action, units of the Syrian Special Forces and the 47th Brigade deployed into Hama and launched house-to-house searches, sealing off neighborhoods as street fighting erupted. A curfew was imposed and Syrian Army troops entered the city. Between Thursday, April 23, 1981, and Sunday, April 26 1981, security forces executed at least 350 residents of the city and injured 600 more, chosen randomly among the male population over the age of 14.

Background

Middle East Watch (est. 1989, a part of Human Rights Watch) called the period between 1976 and 1982 "The Great Repression." According to Middle East Watch,

Aftermath

See also

References

1982 Hama massacre

The Hama massacre (Arabic: مجزرة حماة‎) occurred in February 1982, when the Syrian Arab Army and the Defense Companies, under the orders of the country's president Hafez al-Assad, besieged the town of Hama for 27 days in order to quell an uprising by the Muslim Brotherhood against al-Assad's government. The massacre, carried out by the Syrian Army under commanding General Rifaat al-Assad, effectively ended the campaign begun in 1976 by Sunni Muslim groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, against the government.

Initial diplomatic reports from Western countries stated that 1,000 were killed. Subsequent estimates vary, with the lower estimates claiming that at least 10,000 Syrian citizens were killed, while others put the number at 20,000 (Robert Fisk), or 40,000 (Syrian Human Rights Committee). About 1,000 Syrian soldiers were killed during the operation and large parts of the old city were destroyed. Alongside such events as Black September in Jordan, the attack has been described as one of "the single deadliest acts by any Arab government against its own people in the modern Middle East". According to Syrian opposition, the vast majority of the victims were civilians.

Al-Qubeir massacre

The Al-Qubeir massacre (Arabic: مجزرة القبير‎), also known as the Hama massacre, occurred in the small village of Al-Qubeir near Hama, Syria, on 6 June 2012 during the country's ongoing civil conflict. Al-Qubeir is described as a Sunni farming settlement surrounded by Alawite villages in the central province of Hama. According to preliminary evidence, troops had surrounded the village which was followed by pro-government Shabiha militia entering the village and killing civilians with "barbarity," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the UN Security Council.

Activists, and witnesses, stated that scores of civilians, including children, had been killed by Shabiha militia and security forces, while the Syrian government said that nine people had been killed by "terrorists". It was further claimed by the Syrian National Council that 35 of the people killed were from the same Al Yatim family and more than half of them women and children.

Events

Activists reported that the village was initially shelled by the security forces, before the Shabiha moved in to kill by shooting at close range and by stabbing. A government statement, reported by Syrian state TV, denied responsibility: "What a few media have reported on what happened in Al-Qubeir, in the Hama region, is completely false." State TV had previously stated that the security forces were engaged in an assault on an "armed terrorist stronghold" in the village.

April 1981

The following events occurred in April 1981:

April 1, 1981 (Wednesday)

Hama

Hama (Arabic: حماة‎ Ḥamāh [ħaˈmaː], Biblical Ḥamāth, "fortress") is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located 213 km (132 mi) north of Damascus and 46 kilometres (29 mi) north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 854,000 (2009 census), Hama is the fourth-largest city in Syria after Aleppo, Damascus and Homs.

The city is renowned for its seventeen norias used for watering the gardens, which are locally claimed to date back to 1100 BC. Though historically used for purpose of irrigation, the norias exist today as an almost entirely aesthetic traditional show.

In the last decades, the city of Hama has become known as a center of the anti-Ba'ath opposition in Syria, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood. The city was raided by the Syrian Army, beginning with the 1964 Islamist uprising, and becoming the scene of carnage during the Islamist uprising in Syria in April 1981 and especially in 1982, when nearly 25,000 people were killed in what became known as Hama massacre. The city was once again the site of conflict between the Syrian military and opposition forces, as one of the main arenas of the Syrian civil war in 2011 and 2012.

Háma (Middle-earth)

Háma is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He is the doorward of King Théoden of Rohan and captain of the King's guard. He appears in the second volume, The Two Towers.

Appearances

Literature

On March 2, 3019 T.A., Háma greeted Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli when they arrived at Meduseld. He told the travellers that they must leave their weapons outside the door before entering the King's hall. Aragorn was reluctant to part with his sword, but Háma said that it was the will of King Théoden and that Aragorn must put aside his sword or fight with all the Men of Edoras. At last, Aragorn agreed but commanded Háma to prevent anyone from touching Andúril. The others left their weapons, but Gandalf kept his staff. Háma allowed this, saying:

With the aid of his staff, Gandalf was able to free Théoden from the influence of his counsellor Gríma Wormtongue, who worked for Saruman. Háma was summoned to release Théoden's nephew Éomer from imprisonment and bring him before the King. Éomer asked Háma to bring him his sword, Gúthwinë, and Háma did as he was asked, for he was overjoyed that the young Marshal of the Mark was freed. Théoden was surprised to see Éomer armed and Háma confessed that it was his doing, but at length Théoden accepted Éomer's sword and his pledge of loyalty.

Hama (disambiguation)

Hama is a city in central Syria, known as Hamath in antiquity.

Hama and various other transliterations may also refer to:

Sites in the Middle East and connected events

Strictly historical locations