Why the rebel capture of Syria's Hama, a city with a dark history, matters
One of the darkest moments in the modern history of the Arab world happened more than four decades ago, when then-Syrian President Hafez Assad launched what came to be known as the Hama Massacre
BEIRUT (AP) — It was one of the darkest moments in the modern history of the Arab world. More than four decades ago, Hafez Assad, then president of Syria, launched what came to be known as the Hama Massacre.
Between 10,000 to 40,000 people were killed or disappeared in the government attack on the central Syrian city. It began on Feb. 2, 1982, and lasted for nearly a month, leaving the city in ruins.
The memory of the government assault and the monthlong siege on the city, which at the time was a stronghold of Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood, remains visceral in Syrian and Arab minds.
Now Islamist insurgents have captured the city, tearing down a poster of Hafez Assad’s son, President Bashar Assad, and swarming security and government offices — scenes unimaginable 40 years ago.
