The Displacement of Nahiyat Maheen Residents in Homs’s Northern Suburbs
Nahiyat Maheen region in Homs’s northern suburbs includes each of the following regions: Maheen, Hawareen, Al Ghanther, and Al Hadath regions. The region is under the control of armed opposition since the mid of 2014 with a population of almost 27 thousand inhabitants. However, not less than 15 thousand displaced persons, who came from Al Karyatayn city, found shelter in these regions after they ran away from ISIL’s tyranny in their regions since August 2015.
On 31 October 2015, ISIL invaded and controlled Maheen town. Several hours later, a thought to be Russian warplanes started to shell the region and it coincided with artillery shelling from the Syrian government forces which were stationed in Fawj Al Hamrat and Sadad nearby towns.
The warplane shelling killed two civilians and injured dozens according to the victims’ documentation team at SNHR. Not less than 20 thousand individuals fled to Al Karyatayn city that is under ISIL’s control since the western region of Homs is under the control of the Syrian region. Several residents who tried to flee to government-controlled regions were arrested at its military checkpoints and their whereabouts are not known till this moment, according to the residents when they were asked about why they did not flee to the regions under the government’s control.