Al-Bayda, Tartus Governorate
Al-Bayda (Arabic: البيضاء, also spelled al-Beida) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Tartus Governorate, located north of Tartus. Nearby localities include Baniyas to the north, Kharibah to the east and Maten al-Sahel to the south. It is situated just east of the Mediterranean coast. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Bayda had a population of 5,783 in the 2004 census, making it the second largest locality in the Baniyas nahiyah ("subdistrict") after the city of Baniyas.[1] The inhabitants al-Bayda are predominantly Sunni Muslims,[2] and together with Baniyas, Basatin al-Assad and Marqab, the villages form a Sunni-inhabited area amid the largely Alawite-inhabited heartland.[3]
During the Syrian civil war, al-Bayda fell under the control of anti-Assad elements. In May 2013 the village was subjected to government bombardment that reportedly left over 100 dead, including the town's mayor and his family.[4] According to main opposition group, a massacre took place on 2 May, committed by government and pro-government forces.[5] "Syrian troops, backed by gunmen from nearby Alawite villages, swept into the village, torched homes and used knives, guns and blunt objects to kill people in the streets."[6]
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- Duraykish
- al-Baqaa
- Dweir Ruslan
- Junaynet Ruslan
- Fajlit
- Hamin
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Syria
