Al-Ghassaniya ( also spelled Ghassaniyeh) is a town in central

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, administratively part of the

Homs Governorate Homs Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥimṣ'') is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in central Syria. Its geography differs in various locations in the governorate, from to . ...

, located south of

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 just east of

Lake Qattinah Lake Homs () (also called Lake Qattinah, ) is a lake near Homs, Syria, fed by the Orontes River. The Orontes is also the lake's main outflow. The lake is from the city of Homs, and spans over . The lake is artificial, created by the Lake Homs D ...

. Nearby localities include

Kafr Mousa Kafr Mousa (, also spelled Kafr Musa) is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located south of Homs. Nearby localities include Ghassaniya to the north, Damina al-Gharbiya to the east, al-Qusayr to the southe ...

to the south, district capital al-Qusayr 13 kilometers to the southeast, al-Buwaida al-Sharqiya to the east and

Qattinah Qattinah (, also spelled Kattineh) is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located south of Homs. It is situated at the northeastern end of Lake Homs which is also known as "Lake Qattinah." Nearby localities i ...

to the northeast. According to the Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Ghassaniya had a population of 4,509 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Homs Governorate. Its inhabitants are predominantly

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

s and there is a minority of Murshidiyeen, who are members of a heterodox offshoot of the

Alawites Alawites () are an Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ...

. The village was bombed in April 2018. The village's main source of income is from agriculture and residents mostly grow cabbage and potatoes. However, fishing is also a major economic sector.Syria Christian village breathes easier as army advances
''

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (; AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. With 2,400 employees of 100 nationalities, AFP has an editorial presence in 260 c ...

''. 2013-05-12. During the Syrian civil war, al-Ghassaniya was besieged by anti-government rebels for roughly eight months between September and May 2013. According to residents, the rebels were based in the surrounding villages and prevented them from using the road. Thus, they were required to obtain food products and petrol by using

to access villages on the other sides of the lake, particularly Debbine on the southwestern shore. The

Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...

recaptured the village in early May and the siege was subsequently lifted.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghassaniya Populated places in al-Qusayr District Eastern Orthodox Christian communities in Syria