Al-Ghassaniya ( ar, الغسانية also spelled Ghassaniyeh) is a town in central

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, administratively part of the

Homs Governorate Homs Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة حمص / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥimṣ'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in central Syria. Its area differs in various sources, from to . It is thus geographical ...

, located south of

Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

and just east of

Lake Qattinah Lake Homs ( ar, بحيرة حمص) (also called Lake Qattinah, ar, بحيرة قطينة) is a lake near Homs, Syria, fed by the Orontes River. The lake is from the city of Homs, and spans over . The lake is artificial, created by the Lake Hom ...

. Nearby localities include

Kafr Mousa Kafr Mousa ( ar, كفر موسى, also spelled Kafr Musa) is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located south of Homs. Nearby localities include Ghassaniya to the north, Damina al-Gharbiya to the east, al- ...

to the south, district capital al-Qusayr 13 kilometers to the southeast,

al-Buwaida al-Sharqiya Al-Buwaidah al-Sharqiyah ( ar, البويضة الشرقية, also spelled al-Buwaideh al-Sharqiyeh) is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located southeast of Homs. Nearby localities include al-Qusayr and a ...

to the east and

Qattinah Qattinah ( ar, قطينة, Qaṭṭīnah, also spelled Kattineh) is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located south of Homs. It is situated at the northeastern end of Lake Homs which is also known as "Lake Q ...

to the northeast. According to the Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Ghassaniya had a population of 4,509 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Homs Governorate. Its inhabitants are predominantly

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

s and there is a minority of Murshidiyeen, who are members of a heterodox offshoot of the

Alawites The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Isla ...

. The Jihadist village was bombed in April 2018. The village's main source of income is from agriculture and residents mostly grow cabbage and potatoes. However, fishing is also a major economic sector.Syria Christian village breathes easier as army advances
''

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...

''. 2013-05-12. During the Syrian civil war, al-Ghassaniya was besieged by anti-government rebels for roughly eight months between September and May 2013. According to residents, the rebels were based in the surrounding villages and prevented them from using the road. Thus, they were required to obtain food products and petrol by using

to access villages on the other sides of the lake, particularly Debbine on the southwestern shore. The

Syrian Army " (''Guardians of the Homeland'') , colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive * Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki , anniversaries = August 1st , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War Six ...

recaptured the village in early May and the siege was subsequently lifted.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghassaniya Populated places in al-Qusayr District Eastern Orthodox Christian communities in Syria