al-Bayda
ٱلْبَيْضَاء al-Beida | |
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Village | |
Coordinates: 35°7′30″N 35°56′55″E / 35.12500°N 35.94861°E | |
Country | Syria |
Governorate | Tartus |
District | Baniyas |
Subdistrict | Baniyas |
Elevation | 149 m (488 ft) |
Population (2004)
[1] | |
• Total | 5,783 |
Time zone | UTC+2 ( EET) |
• Summer ( DST) | UTC+3 ( EEST) |
Al-Bayda ( Arabic: ٱلْبَيْضَاء, romanized: al-Bayḍāʾ, 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 with a Christian minority, [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]