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Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
A Syrian American returned to Syria to aid his ailing father. He was executed in sectarian violence
SWEIDA, Syria — The first video opens with Hosam Saraya, a 35-year-old Syrian American and seven other members of his family, walking in a procession down a street, their hands placed on the shoulders of the person in front of them, escorted by gunmen wearing fatigues and waving assault rifles. One of the gunmen says, 'We gave you safe passage,' while others shout religious slogans. Another video shot on July 16 cuts to Saraya and his relatives kneeling in the middle of a roundabout. One of the gunmen speaks to a family member, his voice becoming more menacing as his anger mounts. Then the shooting starts, and Saraya and the others collapse to the ground. Saraya, a member of the Druze religious minority, was living in Oklahoma but had returned to the family home in the Druze-majority city of Sweida to take care of his ill father, relatives said. 'His father improved, and Hosam was supposed to come back to Oklahoma in a month. We're in complete disbelief and shock,' said one U.S.-based relative who refused to be identified, fearing reprisals against her family in Syria. 'We just never thought something like this could happen to us.' Saraya studied finance and accounting at Damascus University before moving to the U.S. in 2014, where he earned an MBA at Oklahoma Christian University. Afterward, he worked as an operations manager at a senior home care company and became a U.S. citizen. He was unmarried. Saraya was among an estimated 1,380 people killed in a spasm of sectarian violence that swept through Sweida this month, when fighting between Bedouin clansmen and Druze militiamen escalated into armed clashes that drew in Syria's fledgling government and Israel, which said it intervened to protect the Druze community. Government forces were supposed to quash any fighting between Bedouins and Druze, residents and Saraya's neighbors say. Instead they left behind a trail of looting, burning homes and the execution of more than 230 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor. This week, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said he was 'heartbroken' by the death of Saraya, who he said 'was an Oklahoman ... tragically executed alongside other members of his family in Syria.' Relatives in the U.S. said they had been interviewed by the FBI. The Syrian government has yet to reach out to the family here, but said it would hold all government forces accountable for violations. The violence, the third round of sectarian violence to hit Syria since the new Islamist government toppled longtime President Bashar Assad nine months ago, threatens to bring about the disintegration of a country struggling to move on from its 14-year civil war. At the Saraya home in Sweida, signs of the violence are everywhere — walls pockmarked by shrapnel from a hand grenade and family pictures and mirrors cracked by bullet holes. Sitting morosely in the midst of the destruction, one of his relatives, Dima Saraya, 41, recounted what she described as a living nightmare that left her a widow. Most of the family was sleeping when gunmen in fatigues surrounded the house around 6 a.m., shooting the lock off the gate before breaking into the house. Woken up by the commotion, the men told the women and children to stay inside while they went out to stop the gunmen. 'They didn't have any weapons. If they did, those people would have killed them on the spot,' Dima said, adding that one of the fighters, who identified himself as Abu Jaafar, said he was part of the government's General Security apparatus and that they should come with him. When the men refused to go, the fighters responded with a spray of bullets, a hand grenade, and two RPGs to the upper floor. They decided to surrender and as Saraya and the others filed out, Dima and the others ran outside, crying and pleading that the men stay. One of the fighters pointed his rifle at Dima's chest and told her to go inside before he shot her. Later, Dima said, after the gunmen finished searching the house, their leader reassured her, 'Don't worry. We won't hurt them. In two hours — or by morning — they'll be back. I promise they'll be safe.' 'By then he had already killed them,' Dima said. After the gunmen left, others soon followed. Each time a new group came, they accused the family of hiding weapons and searched the house. Each time they looted: One fighter demanded the gold necklace on Dima's neck and the jewelry from the other women. Another asked for the keys to one of the cars downstairs. Yet another, in a fit of rage, threatened to rape Dima. By the time the last band of fighters arrived, it was 2:30 in the afternoon. They said they would execute everyone in the house, Dima said, but then one of the fighters said, 'Leave them. There are pretty women among them.' They again demanded jewelry or car keys, but Dima replied that there was nothing left to take. When the fighters went outside to continue looting, Dima and 14 other family members ran to a neighbor's house and locked the door, staying silent and hoping they wouldn't be noticed. 'We didn't dare go out to search for anyone. We were too terrified,' Dima said. That night, as videos of the killings — many of them gleefully taken by the gunmen themselves as they tortured and executed Druze — surfaced on social media, the Saraya family looked for signs of their loved ones. It wasn't till the next morning that someone came to the door and told them to come collect the bodies of their relatives. That task fell to another relative, Mutassem Jbaai. 'Each body had more than 50 bullet holes. There was blood everywhere. It was like they were mangled,' he said, wincing at the memory. The U.S. State Department said on Thursday it was having direct discussions with the Syrian government on Saraya's killing, and that it called for 'an immediate investigation,' according to department deputy spokesman Tommy Pigott. 'Hosam and his family deserve justice, and those responsible for this atrocity must be held accountable,' Pigott said. Yet among the Saraya family, few believe the Syrian government will do anything to bring justice. They point to earlier bouts of sectarian bloodshed that have gone unpunished. 'We can't live like this. When Assad fell, we had a bit of hope and gave them a chance,' said the U.S.-based relative. 'But as the saying goes, 'once a terrorist, always a terrorist.' '
NBC News
22-07-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
U.S citizen killed in Syria sectarian violence alongside 6 Druze family members
An American citizen from Oklahoma was killed along with six male relatives during the sectarian violence that erupted last week in Syria. Syrian-American Hosam Saraya, 35, was visiting his family in Sweida in southern Syria from Oklahoma City, where he lived. Last Wednesday, he and his family members were seized by armed men and gunned down in the street, according to a relative who spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity. NBC News could not independently verify who was responsible for the attack. Video footage circulating online and verified by NBC News showed an execution-style shooting of Saraya and his family members. In one video posted to Instagram, eight men are seen forced to walk in a line on a deserted street west of Tishreen Square in Sweida's city center by about half a dozen armed men in military-style fatigues. In another video, the same men are kneeling before being gunned down by the armed men, as dozens of shots are fired over 15 seconds. A graduate of Oklahoma Christian University and Damascus University, Saraya was a member of Syria's Druze religious minority and had founded a virtual school for Syrian children administered from Sweida. 'He loved to help his community… He's always been, you know, very ambitious and very kind,' his relative said. The State Department on Monday confirmed that an American citizen had been killed in Syria but did not identify them or provide any further details. 'We offer condolences to the family on their loss and are providing consular assistance to them,' a spokesperson for the State Department said, adding, 'We are greatly concerned when any U.S. citizen is harmed overseas, wherever they are.' The spokesperson said the U.S. had called for 'accountability in all cases where U.S. citizens are harmed abroad.' Republican Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) said in a post on X Monday that he and his wife were "heartbroken" by Saraya's death. "Hosam was an Oklahoman and member of the Druze community who was tragically executed alongside other members of his family in Syria," Lankford said. Clashes first broke out between Syria's Druze minority and Bedouin tribal militias earlier this month, drawing interventions from government security forces and Israel. Hundreds were reportedly killed in the clashes. The fighting came to a pause over the weekend after the Syrian government said it agreed to a fragile ceasefire with both sides. As part of the U.S.-backed truce, the Syrian government on Monday began evacuating Bedouin families from the predominantly Druze city. 'Escalating hostilities can only be contained with an agreement to pause violence, protect the innocent, allow humanitarian access, and step back from danger,' Thomas Barrack, Special Envoy for Syria, said in a statement while announcing the deal. Israeli airstrikes in Syria last week also caught President Donald Trump by surprise, White Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday. Trump 'was caught off guard by the bombing in Syria and also the bombing of a Catholic Church in Gaza,' Leavitt said, adding, 'In both accounts, the president quickly called the prime minister to rectify those situations.' The recent outbreak of violence risks reigniting sectarian tensions in the country nearly seven months after its longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was toppled. The Druze and other minorities remain wary of Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who met Trump in May after the president said he would lift sanctions on the war-torn country. U.S. officials are now scrambling to contain the violence, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling on Damascus to prevent 'violent jihadists' from 'carrying out massacres.' 'They must hold accountable and bring to justice anyone guilty of atrocities including those in their own ranks,' Rubio said in a statement Sunday. More than 128,500 people have been displaced since the clashes began July 13, according to the United Nations' International Organization for Migration. U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said in a statement last week that there were credible reports of widespread violations and abuses, including summary executions, arbitrary killings, kidnappings, destruction of private property and looting of homes by the Syrian government forces, as well as Druze and Bedouin fighters.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
When is spring break? As warmer weather approaches, when will schools be off for the week?
With warmer weather arriving, though it may not be permanent, many Oklahomans are looking forward to a week off of work and school in the coming days to spend under the sun. Yes, you heard us right. It's almost time for Spring Break. Here's what to know about when Oklahoma students are off of school for Spring Break. Many OKC area schools, including those listed below, are out for Spring Break the week of March 17 through March 21. Oklahoma City Public Schools Edmond Public Schools Norman Public Schools Moore Public Schools Mid-Del Public Schools Several Oklahoma colleges, including those listed below, are taking Spring Break the week of March 17-21. The one exception is Oklahoma Christian University, which lists Spring Break as starting Sunday, March 16, and ending Friday, March 21. University of Oklahoma Oklahoma State University University of Central Oklahoma University of Tulsa Oklahoma City University Oklahoma Christian University This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: When is spring break? See 2025 dates for Oklahoma schools, colleges
