On 21/4/2013, Syrian army forces accompanied by Iraqi and Lebanese militias raided Jdaidat Artooz al-Fadl- a town situated in the Qatna area of rural Damascus- committing a massacre against families through the use of white and small weapons at close range.
Five hundred and sixty six civilians were killed, the majority of them women and children.
This massacre is considered one of the worst massacres committed in Syria since the beginning of the popular uprisings in March 2011.
No fighters were situated in the area, neither before nor after, or even as the massacre took place.
Official Syrian media documented the massacre, acknowledging that elements of the army were the perpetrators. However, they added that the army had been targeting “terrorists”, not mentioning the deaths of children, women or the elderly, or the acts of slaughter which took place with knives and shooting at short distances- methods through which most of the victims were killed.
State media and media outlets loyal to it broadcasted images of army officers who acknowledged taking part in the massacre.
It is worthy to note that most of the inhabitants of Jdaidat al-Fadl are families from the Golan Heights that sought refuge there after its occupation in 1967.