Maan massacre

Maan massacre
Part of the Syrian Civil War
Maan massacre is located in Syria
Maan massacre
LocationMa'an, Hama Governorate, Syria
Date9 February 2014
TargetAlawite civilian population and pro-government NDF soldiers
Attack type
Massacre
Deaths24–60+
Perpetrators Jund al-Aqsa
Ahrar ash-Sham
Al-Nusra Front (Per Ba'athist Syria, denied by Ahrar al-Sham)

The Maan massacre (Arabic: مجزرة معان) was a massacre of Alawite civilians and in the village of Ma'an, Syria that occurred on 9 February 2014 committed by Islamist rebel groups Ahrar al-Sham and Jund al-Aqsa.

Events

On 9 February 2014, rebels of the Jund al-Aqsa group attacked and captured the Alawite village of Maan, in Hama province, killing 21 civilians as well as 20 pro-government militiamen according to the pro-opposition war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).[1][2] The SOHR later updated the civilian death toll to "at least 24 civilians", with 14 of the victims being women.[3][4]

The Syrian government gave a higher death toll, initially claiming 42 civilians were killed[3][4] and later 60, most of them women, children and the elderly.[5][6]

The government blamed Nusra Front.[6] This claim however, was denied by the rebel group Ahrar al-Sham, which said that its fighters collaborated with another group to kill around 50 pro-government fighters in the village and denied that the Nusra Front was involved.[7] The SOHR claims that Ahrar al-Sham collaborated with the Islamist group Jund al-Aqsa (another Al-Qaeda affiliate closely linked to Al-Nusra Front at the time) in committing the massacre.[4][8] Both were members of the Army of Conquest, an alliance of various Islamist rebel brigades operating in the Hama countryside, Aleppo and Idlib, which included Al-Nusra Front.[9]

Aftermath

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon later expressed great shock at the "dozens" reported dead and demanded that "perpetrators of this massacre" be brought to justice.[10][11]

The massacre caused demonstrations against Al Qaeda, Al Nusra Front, and the ruling Justice and Development Party by the Alawite community in Hatay, Mersin, Istanbul and other Turkish cities.[12]

On 17 February 2014, the Syrian Army recaptured Maan "after shelling and fighting."[3][4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "More Syrians flee besieged Homs Old City". BBC News. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "استشهاد اكثر من 20 مواطنا في بلدة معان". المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان (in Arabic). 10 February 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Syria Army Seizes Alawite 'Massacre' Village". Naharnet. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "الجيش السوري يستعيد قرية «معان»". المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان (in Arabic). 18 February 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "Syrian peace talks resume acrimoniously as Assad regime alleges massacre in Hama". Washington Post. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  6. 1 2 Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). "42 women, children and elderly people murdered in massacre by Jabhet al-Nusra in Maan, Hama". sana.sy. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  7. ↑ "Syria peace talks resume; warring parties still far from agreement". Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  8. ↑ "U.S. sanctions jihadist Syrian rebel group Jund al-Aqsa". Reuters. 20 September 2016. Archived from the original on 27 February 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  9. ↑ Sengupta, Kim (13 May 2015). "Turkey and Saudi Arabia shock Western countries by supporting Anti-Assad jihadists in Syria". The Independent. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "Secretary-General, Learning 'with Great Shock' of Reported Massacre in Syria, Strongly Condemns Violence against Civilians - Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". United Nations. 2014-02-11. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  11. ↑ "UN 'shocked' at reports of Syria massacre". SYRIA NEWS. 2014-02-12. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  12. ↑ Tastekin, Fehim. "Syria war sparks Turkish Alawite anxiety". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
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