The Khan al-Assal Massacre ( ar, مجزرة خان العسل, Majzara Ḵān al-ʿAsal) was committed during the Syrian Civil War by Syrian rebels after the capture of Khan al-Assal, a town about 14 kilometers west of the city of Aleppo, by the armed

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

on 22 July 2013. Opposition activists attributed the massacre to the jihadist group Al-Nusra Front – then al-Qaeda's main Syrian branch – and the Ansar al-Khilafa Brigade, and said that 51 government soldiers who had surrendered had been executed. Government media said that Islamists including the al-Khalifa Brigade had killed 123 people, the majority of them civilians.

Background

Rebels had for months tried to take Khan al-Assal, a strategically located town in the west of Aleppo province. It finally fell into rebel hands on 22 July, but fighting continued on its edges the next day, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). During the clashes, a captured

T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tank ...

tank was seen in use by the rebels. At least 150 Syrian army soldiers died in the fighting with rebels for the control of the town in the northern Aleppo province. Khan al-Assal had been the site of the

Khan al-Assal chemical attack The Khan al-Assal chemical attack was a chemical attack in Khan al-Assal, Aleppo, Syria on 19 March 2013, which according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights resulted in at least 26 fatalities including 16 government soldiers and 10 civil ...

on 19 March 2013, in which government soldiers and civilians were killed by sarin gas.

Massacre

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), an opposition group, 51 Syrian soldiers were executed by rebels after the fall of Khan al-Assal, while another hundred had died during the battle. The SOHR posted a video online which according to the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' "showed what appeared to be an execution ground, with dozens of lifeless bodies clumped against a wall pockmarked with bullet holes". Citing unnamed witnesses, the SOHR held members of the Al-Nusra Front and Ansar al-Khilafah responsible, saying that the fighters had executed most of the government soldiers who had surrendered. Videos posted by the Ansar al-Khalifah Brigade show some of the men killed in civilian clothing, and some of the bodies mutilated. The Al-Nusra Front confirmed its participation in the battle and said that 150 pro-government forces had been killed in it, but did not claim responsibility for the executions. The government-owned Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported on 27 July that the death toll was 123 people, the majority of them civilians – with others still missing.

Reactions

Domestic reaction

* - Minister of Information

Omran al-Zoubi Omran Ahed al-Zoubi ( ar, عمران عاهد الزعبي) (27 September 1959 in Damascus, Syria – 6 July 2018 in Damascus, Syria) was the Minister of Information in the Government of Syria from 23 June 2012 until July 2016. He died from a hea ...

stated that "terrorists who committed the Khan al-Assal massacre and the countries supporting them will be held accountable and pay dearly."

References

{{Syrian Civil War Massacres of the Syrian civil war in 2013 Massacres of the Syrian civil war perpetrated by the al-Nusra Front Aleppo Governorate in the Syrian civil war July 2013 events in Syria

Background

Massacre

Reactions

Domestic reaction

See also

References