Taldou

Taldou تلدو Tall Daww
Town
Taldou Location in Syria
Coordinates: 34°52′59″N 36°30′0″E / 34.88306°N 36.50000°E
Country	Syria
Governorate	Homs
District	Taldou
Subdistrict	Taldou
Population (2004)
• Total	15,727
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	+3 (UTC)

Taldou (also spelled Tall Daww, Taldo, Tall Dhu or Taldao Arabic: تلدو‎‎) is a town in the Houla region of northern Syria, north of Homs in the Homs Governorate. Nearby towns include Burj al-Qa'i to the east, Tallaf to the northeast, Kafr Laha and Tell Dahab to the north, Qarmas and Maryamin to the northwest, al-Taybah al-Gharbiyah and al-Shinyah to the west, Kabu to the southwest, Sharqliyya to the south and Ghur Gharbiyah to the southeast. In 2004 it had a population of 15,727 according to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics.^[1] Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.^[2]

On 2012-05-28, together with the neighboring village al-Shumariyeh, Taldou was the scene of the Houla massacre in which 108 civilians, including 49 children and 32 women, were killed, allegedly by Syrian Army shelling and ground attacks by pro-government Shabeeha militiamen.^[3] As of 21 June 2012, government forces have been driven from the town center and are relegated to positions on the town's periphery.^[4][5]

References

1. General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Homs Governorate. (Arabic)
2. Smith, 1841, p. 179.
3. Houla eyewitness: 'They had no mercy'. BBC News. 2012-05-28.
4. “Some rebels wonder if Syrian troops' poor use of tanks, helicopters is intentional,” McClatchy Newspapers, 21 June 2012.
5. "YouTube". Retrieved 25 October 2014.

Bibliography

• Smith, Eli; Robinson, Edward (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the Year 1838. 3. Crocker and Brewster.