Eleven years after the tragic massacre of 248 civilians in Banias, in the village of Beyda in Syria, survivors are finally speaking out. Anadolu has collected moving testimonies of this dark episode perpetrated by the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Occurring on May 2 and 3, 2013, this massacre is one of the most brutal acts of violence committed during the Syrian civil war. According to witnesses, regime forces, accompanied by pro-government militias, surrounded the village, carrying out systematic executions of its population.
From the start of the attack, the villagers were brutally grouped together. The men were confined in small spaces while the women and children were locked in neighboring houses. The executions, accompanied by fires to erase the evidence, intensified the next day, with violent intrusions into homes.
Harrowing stories recount these horrors: some villagers were killed in a barbaric manner, tied to vehicles traveling in the opposite direction. The regime also forced Sheikh Omar, a local figure, to provide false testimony before executing him and his family when he refused. These events show the brutality and systematic oppression strategy of the regime.
Abdessattar Khalil, who lost his fiancée and his family, recounts these atrocities in chilling words: “They shot a mother’s baby because she couldn’t calm him down. I saw a father forced to choose between his life and that of his son. »
Hassan Yahya Bayasi, another witness, also remembers the inhumane acts: “They burned residents alive and beheaded others, committing every crime imaginable. »
Experts believe the massacre was aimed at sowing terror and manipulating sectarian tensions to bolster support for the regime. Despite the horror and lingering fear, survivors are demanding justice. Rawa Adnan, having lost several members of his family, calls for fair justice without reprisals.
The name of Mirac Ural, pro-regime militiaman accused of involvement in this massacre, reappears today. He is also suspected of having orchestrated the Reyhanlı attack in Türkiye in May 2013. Survivors are hoping for international support so that justice can finally be served for these terrifying crimes.
