Helfaya city is located in Hama governorate, Syria. The city is located 25 km to the northwest of Hama city, and 2 km from Mharda city.
Most recent population statistics (taken in 2004) suggest that the city is populated by more than 22,000 peoples.
On the day of the massacre, December 23, 12, 2012, about 20 tons of flour were secured by Sham Islamic Charity Commission, and the automatic bakery resumed operating. As the news spread, people starting flocking the bakery which was overly crowded, which compelled four FSA members to intervene and organize the lines.
At exactly 16:30, a Sukhoi-22 warplane, taking the rouse of Mharda city and heading east, dropped eight bombs on the bakery. The first shell directly hit the crowd in front of the bakery, which caused a large explosion followed by a succession of small explosion, as people’s body parts scattered over a 200 meters radius.
At this time, the death toll is estimated at 93 victims, as it will likely increase. We haven’t been able to document all victims since many of them were completely eradicated in the wake of the huge explosion caused by the bomb, while others were severely disfigured and, therefore, unidentifiable. We have, however, managed to write down 44 documented names at this time. A day after the massacre, we found out that the bombs that were dropped were cluster bombs – eight large bombs with each bomb containing 100 mini bombs.