The 2012 Hama offensive was a military operation during the Syrian Civil War launched by the

Syrian opposition Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

on 16 December 2012, with the intent of taking control of the Hama Province. The offensive was stopped after the Syrian Army launched a counter-offensive, leaving the rebels in control of only half a dozen towns and villages in the north of the province.

Background

With the Hama province largely controlled by Army Forces, the FSA launched an offensive on 16 December, to capture the province and Hama city itself and by the same time, cutting the principal supply route of the Army in Aleppo.

The offensive

The rebel military council of Hama announced the start of the offensive on 16 December, giving Syrian government troops in the province an ultimatum to surrender to the

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...

within 48 hours. Within two days, the

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (also known as SOHR; ), founded in May 2006, is a United Kingdom-based information office whose stated aim is to document human rights abuses in Syria; since 2011 it has focused on the Syrian Civil War. ...

and Qassem Saadeddine, a member of the

military command, claimed that Syrian government troops had already been cleared from the towns of Halfaya, Kafr Nabudah, Hayalin, Hasraya,

al-Lataminah Al-Lataminah (, also spelled ''Latamneh'' or ''Latamnah'') is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located northwest of Hama. Nearby localities include Karnaz to the northwest, Kafr Zita to the north, Murak, Ham ...

, Taybat al-Imam and Kafr Zita, leaving the rebels in control of the rural western part of Hama Province, and all areas north of Hama city. Rebels had advanced south from

Maarrat al-Nu'man Maarat al-Numan (), also known as al-Ma'arra, is a city in northwestern Syria, south of Idlib and north of Hama, with a population of about 58,008 before the Civil War (2004 census). In 2017, it was estimated to have a population of 80,000, inc ...

and Jisr ash-Shugour, encountering little resistance. It seemed that rebels had overrun Syrian Army lines north of Hama city within 48 hours. Government positions in Khan Shaykhun and Mhardeh were reportedly under attack by rebel forces. The rebels also made claims of fighting inside Hama city itself, with international analysts wondering if the Syrian Army was redeployed towards

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

and

Latakia Latakia (; ; Syrian Arabic, Syrian pronunciation: ) is the principal port city of Syria and capital city of the Latakia Governorate located on the Mediterranean coast. Historically, it has also been known as Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad Mar ...

. However, this was not confirmed. On 19 December, according to the Local Coordination Committees (LCC), Syrian Government security forces reportedly set up checkpoints outside Hayalin, leading to doubts as to whether or not rebels had full control over the town, unlike the other places they captured in the operation. On 20 December, rebels attacked and captured parts of the town of Morek in Hama's countryside, and were surrounding the Alawite towns of

Ma'an Ma'an () is a city in southern Jordan, southwest of the capital Amman. It serves as the capital of the Ma'an Governorate. Its population was approximately 41,055 in 2015. Civilizations with the name of Ma'an have existed at least since the Nab ...

and al-Tleisa. On 23 December, the LCC and SOHR reported that up to 300 civilians were killed by bombing from warplanes in the city of Halfaya, while queuing for bread at a bakery. The Syrian Government did agree that many women and children were killed, however they blamed rebel fighters who they say attacked the town. On 26 December, the Syrian Army retook control of three Alawite villages, including Ma'an, repelling the rebels who had entered them days earlier. On 29 December, six people were killed by the Syrian air force bombardment on the town of Kafr Nabudah, two of them were children. Also, one civilian was killed by the bombardment on the town of Taybat al-Imam. A week later, Assad forces from

Qamhana Qamhana (, also spelled ''Qomhane'' or ''Qomhana'') is a Syrian town located in the Hama Subdistrict of the Hama District in Hama Governorate. It is situated immediately west of the Zayn al-Abidin Mountain. According to the Syria Central Bureau o ...

, attacked this same town. On 30 December, the Syrian Army general command announced that they took back control of the strategic town of Morek. On 31 December, Syrian Army shelling was reported on Halfaya.

Aftermath

On 21 January 2013, SOHR said that a car bomb near the headquarters of a pro-government militia killed 50 people in the eastern suburbs of Hama. On 22 January, the military launched an offensive, with the aim of recapturing territory lost during the rebel advance into northern Hama. 1,500 soldiers and 100 tanks were being used in the operation, and the focus was on the town of Kernaz in Mhardeh District, where up to 1,000 rebel fighters were based. By early February, the rebels were reportedly in fear of losing Kernaz and with it Kafr Naboudeh. This would leave the military in control of the whole north of Hama, reversing all previous rebel gains. On 6 February, 54 government employees of a defense-related factory were killed in al-Buraq south of Hama city, when a mini-bus blew up at a bus stop. On 7 February, the military recaptured Kernaz, after 16 days of fighting. Two days before, the Army had also regained control of the nearby town of Mughir, securing a corridor to Alawite villages in the west of the province.

References

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