Taldou (, also spelled Tall Daww, Taldo, Tall Dhu or Taldao) is a town in the Houla region of northern

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 ...

, north 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 ...

in 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 . ...

. Nearby towns include Burj al-Qa'i to the east,

Tallaf Talaf () is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located southwest of Hama. Nearby localities include Musa al-Houla to the north, Hirbnafsah to the northeast, Kisin to the east, Burj Qa'i to the south ...

to the northeast,

Kafr Laha Kafr Laha () is a town in the Homs Governorate north of Homs in northern Syria. In 2004 it had a population of 20,041 according to the Central Bureau of Statistics of Syria. Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the l ...

and Tell Dahab to the north, Qarmas and Maryamin to the northwest,

al-Taybah al-Gharbiyah Al-Taybah al-Gharbiyah (, also spelled ''Teiba'' or ''Tayibeh al-Gharbiyeh'') is a town in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, northwest of Homs. Nearby localities include al-Shinyah to the southwest, al-Qabu to the so ...

and

al-Shinyah Al-Shinyah (, also spelled al-Shiniyeh) is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located northwest of Homs. Nearby localities include Fahel to the southwest, al-Qabu to the south, Sharqliyya to the southeast, ...

to the west, Kabu to the southwest,

Sharqliyya Sharqliyya (, also spelled Sharqlieh) is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located northwest of Homs. Nearby localities include al-Qabu and al-Shinyah to the west, al-Taybah al-Gharbiyah to the northwest, ...

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.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Homs Governorate. Its inhabitants are predominantly

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

s. On May 25, 2012, together with the neighboring village al-Shumariyeh, Taldou was the scene of the

Houla massacre The Houla massacre () was a mass murder of civilians by Ba'athist Syria, Ba’athist Syrian government forces that took place on May 25, 2012, in the midst of the Syrian Civil War, in the town of Taldou, in the Houla Region of Syria, a string o ...

in which 108 civilians, including 49 children and 32 women, were killed, allegedly by

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 ...

shelling and ground attacks by pro-government Shabeeha militiamen. As of 21 June 2012, government forces have been driven from the town center and are relegated to positions on the town's periphery. On May 15, 2018, Syrian forces retook the town.“Some rebels wonder if Syrian troops' poor use of tanks, helicopters is intentional,”
McClatchy Newspapers, 21 June 2012.

References

Bibliography

* Populated places in Homs District Towns in Syria {{HomsSY-geo-stub