A 35-year-old woman, identified as Khansa Mohammad al-Sayyed from Taldao village in northwestern rural Homs governorate, and her two-year-old daughter, identified as Nour al-Saleh, were shot dead on December 3, 2023, by gunmen we have not yet been able to identify, who are suspected to be affiliated with Syrian regime forces, in Sheen village in western rural Homs governorate. Khansa, a survivor of the infamous 2012 al-Hola Massacre in Homs governorate, was trying to irregularly cross from rural Homs governorate to Lebanon by car, along with her four children, at the time the area is under the control of Syrian regime forces and pro-regime militias.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) is still trying to locate eyewitnesses to obtain more information about the incident. We call on the controlling forces to uphold their responsibilities for protecting civilians in their areas, to investigate this incident, and to make the investigation’s findings known to the public. Syria will never have true stability without a genuine political transition process towards democracy within a fixed timetable.
