al-Bayda
ٱلْبَيْضَاء
al-Beida
Village
al-Bayda is located in Syria
al-Bayda
al-Bayda
Coordinates: 35°7′30″N 35°56′55″E / 35.12500°N 35.94861°E / 35.12500; 35.94861
Country Syria
GovernorateTartus
DistrictBaniyas
SubdistrictBaniyas
Elevation
149 m (488 ft)
Population
 (2004)[1]
 • Total5,783
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Al-Bayda (Arabic: ٱلْبَيْضَاء, romanized: al-Bayḍāʾ, also spelled al-Beida) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Tartus Governorate, located north of Tartus. Nearby localities include Baniyas to the north, Kharibah to the east and Maten al-Sahel to the south. It is situated just east of the Mediterranean coast. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Bayda had a population of 5,783 in the 2004 census, making it the second largest locality in the Baniyas nahiyah ("subdistrict") after the city of Baniyas.[1] The inhabitants al-Bayda are predominantly Sunni Muslims with a Christian minority,[2] and together with Baniyas, Basatin al-Assad and Marqab, the villages form a Sunni-inhabited area amid the largely Alawite-inhabited heartland.[3]

During the Syrian civil war, al-Bayda fell under the control of anti-Assad elements. In May 2013 the village was subjected to government bombardment that reportedly left over 100 dead, including the town's mayor and his family.[4] According to main opposition group, a massacre took place on 2 May, committed by government and pro-government forces.[5] "Syrian troops, backed by gunmen from nearby Alawite villages, swept into the village, torched homes and used knives, guns and blunt objects to kill people in the streets."[6]

References

  1. ^ a b General Census of Population and Housing 2004 Archived 2013-01-12 at archive.today. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Idlib Governorate. (in Arabic)
  2. ^ Rosen, Nir. Assad's Alawites: An entrenched community. Al Jazeera English. 2011-10-12.
  3. ^ Holliday, Joseph. The Assad Regime: From Counterinsurgency to Civil War. Middle East Security Report 8. Institute for the Study of War. March 2013.
  4. ^ Mourtada, Hania; Gladstone, Rick (2013-05-02). "Syrian Forces Strike Rebels in Wide-Ranging Assaults". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  5. ^ "Syrian activists document al-Bayda and Baniyas 'massacre'". BBC News. 2013-05-27. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  6. ^ Surk, Barbara. Assad regime accused of massacre of 50 Sunni villagers. The Independent. 2013-05-04.
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