Syria: Mshierfa Bus Massacre

June 26, 2015
(incomplete)

SNHR massacres report, Homs Massacre 12 is: Mshierfa 6 January, 2013. "Government forces, reinforced by local militias, stopped a number of travelers on Homs-Lebanon road before they tortured them and slaughtered them with knives. SNHR documented the killing of 11 victims including three Christians. Also, among the victims was a woman." 

Mshierfa must be El Mochayrfeh (as it's given on Wikimpaia) at the border west of Homs. The time frame is concurrent with the massacre and assault on Tasnin, Homs, January 5 and 6. The day's dead at VDC show a lot of people from there dying, and likely some were fleeing as well. But these 11 are unrelated, from other areas of Hama and Homs, the entries say. The VDC apparently only got 8 of the 11  documented and say there were 12 - those say Martyrdom location Homs: Mesherfeih, and by kidnapping-execution. They share the long note:

... a massacre committed by shabiha at Mashrafa checkpoint, which is in the western suburbs of Homs. It was against 12 passengers on a bus that was heading from Hama to Lebanon. Communication with them was lost on 06-01-2013 and then on 08-01-2013, their families were told to receive their bodies from Homs Military Hospital. Most of the bodies were slaughtered with knives and mutilated.

 

There are two women listed, but one has a man's name. Maher Sameer al-Naser, adult female, had this added: "Martyred with his Mother and Father ... He was traveling to Lebanon for therapeutic purposes was stabbed several stab wounds before his death. Christian." So the three Christians were from Hama's Madina district, it says here, and his mother (must be Reem al-Basha) is the woman victim. Three others are from the northwest district/suburb of Kazow (Kazou on Wikimapia) and one from Fraya, Hama (perhaps meaning Kafr Aya in Homs, dues east of this crossing) - another is from Homs, unspecified.

So, a bus is stopped - 11 passengers of a total probably higher than that are singled out to die. Three are Christians, in a fluke. Population proportion-wise, who could the other 8? Maybe a stray Ismaeli was on there or something as well, but the other 7 were probably Alawi. Some passengers may have been trying to flee to Lebanon to avoid the rebels. That sometimes backfires, draws you to their attention, and it does so by the busload. 

 

(more forthcoming)