Forced Displacement and Violence in Arza Village in Northern Hama Countryside
Armed elements seizing civilian homes indicates a state of chaos and lawlessness in areas suffering from power vacuum and lack of accountability
April 11, 2025, 10:47 pm

Forced Displacement and Violence in Arza Village in Northern Hama Countryside

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that horrific acts of violence occurred in Arza village in the northern Hama countryside, leaving 32 civilian casualties, including 3 children and a woman, who were directly executed on February 1 of this year and March 7.

Details of the first incident show that 10 civilians from the area were killed by unknown gunmen, leaving behind a village shrouded in silence and fear.

This incident was not isolated but was followed by another in the Syrian coast on March 7, where 22 more civilians were killed by elements from the Ministries of Defense and Interior, along with supporting forces, after armed groups attacked members of the General Security and caused their deaths.

Since then, a deadly silence has prevailed over Arza village, as survivors have either been forcibly displaced or visit their village in disguise, fearing killing or arrest.

Forces affiliated with the Ministries of Defense and Interior and supporting forces returned to the village in early April, where they destroyed graves and attacked religious sites, in a scene reflecting an attempt to erase the place's identity and history.

The seizure of civilian homes has become a systematic approach, extending to neighboring villages as well, in the absence of any accountability or official investigations. Sources indicate that armed elements forcibly control these homes and prevent their original owners from returning to them.

If any resident attempts to return to their village and is spotted by these elements, they are not allowed to leave unless they sign a lease or sale contract for the home, or any legal document that ensures the elements' control over the property.

Sources explained that the ID cards of civilians who fled the village remain held by these elements, to be used in case a fact-finding committee arrives. Members of these forces present themselves as the original ID holders in an attempt to hide the truth and falsify the reality of the region.

Amid these tense conditions, a person working as an educational supervisor in Hama emerged through a post on social media, in which he directed inflammatory sectarian rhetoric against the people of Arza village, sparking a wave of anger and condemnation among followers who saw such rhetoric as opening the door to more violence and societal division.

These unfortunate events are an indicator of continuing violations in some Syrian areas, amid the absence of any effective international intervention or independent human rights monitoring, threatening the security and stability of local communities and deepening the suffering of civilians who face various types of persecution and violence.

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