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The Houla massacre ((アラビア語:مجزرة الحولة)) was an attack that took place on May 25, 2012, in the midst of the Syrian civil war, in the town of Taldou, in the Houla Region of Syria, a string of towns northwest of Homs. According to the United Nations, 108 people were killed, including 34 women and 49 children.〔 While a small proportion of the deaths appeared to have resulted from artillery and tank rounds used against Taldou, the U.N. later announced that most of the massacre's victims had been "summarily executed in two separate incidents". UN investigators have reported that some witnesses and survivors stated that the massacre was committed by pro-government Shabiha. In August 2012 UN investigators released a report which stated that it was likely that Syrian troops and Shabiha militia were responsible for the massacre, concluding that: "On the basis of available evidence, the commission has a reasonable basis to believe that the perpetrators of the deliberate killing of civilians, at both the Abdulrazzak and Al-Sayed family locations, were aligned to the Government. It rests this conclusion on its understanding of access to the crime sites, the loyalties of the victims, the security layout in the area including the position of the government’s water authority checkpoint and the consistent testimonies of victims and witnesses with direct knowledge of the events. This conclusion is bolstered by the lack of credible information supporting other possibilities."〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=UN Report 15 Aug 2012 )〕 The Syrian government alleged that Al-Qaeda terrorist groups were responsible for the killings, and that Houla residents were warned not to speak publicly by opposition forces. This account received support from a report published by the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'',〔〔〔 but is contested by most media coverage〔 and by the U.N. Human Rights Council's report published in August 2012.〔 Channel 4 news reported that Houla residents stated that the Syrian military and government-hired Shabiha were the perpetrators of the massacre, as claimed by opposition groups. Townspeople described how Shabiha, who were thought to be men from Shia/Alawite villages to the south and west of Houla (Kabu and Felleh were named repeatedly) entered the town after several hours of shelling. According to one eyewitness, the killers had written Shia slogans on their foreheads (the Alawi faith is a Shia sect). The fifteen nations of the U.N. Security Council unanimously condemned the Syrian government for firing heavy weapons at civilians. The U.S., U.K., and eleven other nations jointly expelled Syrian ambassadors and diplomats from their territories. On June 1, the U.N. Human Rights Council voted 41-6 to condemn Syria for the massacre in the town of Houla and called for an international criminal inquiry into the events; delegates from Russia, China, Bolivia, Sudan, and Cuba were among those voting against the resolution. Later, on June 27, the council published a report on rights violations in Syria where it tempered its previous position on the culpability of the Syrian government in the attacks. There it states that "with the available evidence" the Commission of Inquiry could not rule out any of three possible perpetrators. However, the report noted that the commission had "yet to be afforded access to the country," which "substantially hampered the investigation, and its findings should be viewed in that light." 〔"Oral Update of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic." United Nations, Office of High Commissioner of Human Rights. A/HRC/20/CRP.1, 26 June 2012. http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session20/COI_OralUpdate_A.HRC.20.CRP.1.pdf〕 == Background == Al-Houla is an area mainly comprising three towns named, as given north-to-south in the UN's June report, Tal Addahab, Kafr Laha and Taldou. They report the towns have a combined population of more than 100,000 "of which the majority is Sunni Muslim," but are "ringed by Shia villages to the southeast, and Alawi villages to the southwest and the north." 〔 Houla was a regular protest hub, even before army defectors formed the Free Syrian Army. The Syrian army had been accused of raiding and killing protesters in the Houla region before. But by May, 2012 FSA or allied rebels were in general control of the area, according to both pro-government (acceptable citation needed) and anti-government 〔 sources. Der Spiegel was told over the winter "a unit of the Free Syrian Army took up residence (in Houla) and it has been considered liberated since then" although the state's army still controlled "roads into the town." 〔(Syria's My Lai: The Houla Massacre Marks a New Level of Violence ) By Ulrike Putz in Beirut, Der Spiegel, May 28, 2012. Accessed January 2, 2015〕 The UN's investigators only really considered Taldou, the southernmost town in Houla, and found "opposition forces may have been in control of parts of the city, mostly in the north." 〔 According to Al Jazeera's correspondent Hadi al-Abdallah, this FSA control of Houla is why the Syrian Army was unable to enter on May 25, and had to shell it from a distance prior to the massacre.〔 However, the UN's June report noted "Government forces are present in Al-Houla" with "fortified checkpoints" they show on an attached map. This shows only the south end of Taldou, between rebel-held Houla and the Alawi and Shia villages. All the reported massacre sites, also labeled on that map, are in this immediate area of Taldou.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Houla massacre」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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