Uqayribat, Two Years after the Chemical Weapon Claimed Lives of the Syrians

Waleed Abu Humam- Horrya Press:

The decision has been taken easily, and the argument was ready, so no complicated plan was needed. The result was the deaths of dozens of Syrians, and this is exactly what a significantly brutal Regime might do.

Early on the morning of December 12^th, 2016, Assad aircrafts abnormally loaded chemicals, to throw over the heads of the children, women, and elders, who were unable to flee Eastern Hama, and killed them using toxic gases, after they survived other kinds of weapons.

Targets included all the densely populated villages, and once aircrafts started missiles and bombing strikes, people directly died, realizing it was from toxic gases.

The targeted areas included the villages and towns of Jruh, Salalia, Hamada al-Omar, and Al-Qastal, in the eastern countryside of Hama.

Dozens of people lost their lives while sleeping, hardly able to get clean breaths.

Medical points were crawling with people suffocating, and death toll began to rise dramatically after the aircrafts’ mission ended.

A total of 107 people died in an hour in the targeted villages, and more than 500 were injured. Some survivors still wish that they died on that day, as most of their family members were lost or permanently disabled because of the chemical substances.

Uqayribat massacre was not the first massacre committed by Assad Regime, using chemical weapons. However, it was enough to end the signs of life in the area. After taking over the area, Assad Regime demolished a number of the devastated villages to eliminate the traces of his crime, blaming the victims, as usual.

* Translated by: Sura Alloush