Asilah أصيلة Asileh | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Asilah Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates:35°11′49″N36°29′20″E / 35.19694°N 36.48889°E /35.19694; 36.48889 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Hama |
| District | Masyaf |
| Subdistrict | Jubb Ramlah |
| Population (2004) | |
• Total | 5,790 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Asilah (Arabic:أصيلة, also spelledAsileh andAsila) is a village in northwesternSyria, administratively part of theHama Governorate, located west ofHama. Nearby localities includeKhunayzir andMhardeh to the northeast,Maarzaf to the east,Umm al-Tuyur to the southeast,Deir al-Salib to the south,Hanjur to the southwest,Jubb Ramlah to the west,Tell Salhab to the northwest andSafsafiyah to the north. According to theCentral Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Asilah had a population of 5,790 in the 2004 census.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantlyAlawites.[2]
In March of 2012, five villagers were killed by opposition gunmen and a teacher kidnapped, after its residents were accused of taking part in government military operations against the neighboring village ofHalfaya.[3] In retaliation, militiamen from the village are widely believed to have taken part in theAl-Qubeir massacre in conjunction with theSyrian Army.[2][3] Three more villagers were killed on September 6, 2017, after it was shelled byJaysh al-Izza members, who accused residents of taking part in the killing of eleven civilians in the nearby village ofMaarzaf.[4]
