Arzah

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox settlement   | official_name = Arzah | native_name = أرزة الضبعة | native_name_lang = ar | other_name = Arzah | settlement_type = Village  | image_skyline = | imagesize = 250px | image_caption = | image_flag = | image_seal = | image_shield =  | nickname = | motto = | image_map = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Syria  | pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_mapsize = 250 | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Syria  | coordinates = {{coord|35|10|28|N|36|41|51|E|region:SY|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg}} Syria | subdivision_type1 = Governorate | subdivision_name1 = Hama | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = Hama | subdivision_type3 = Subdistrict | subdivision_name3 = Hama  | population_footnotes = | population_total = 1,280 | population_as_of = 2004 | population_density_km2 = auto | population_note =  | timezone = EEST | utc_offset = +3 | timezone_DST = | utc_offset_DST = | blank_name_sec1 = City Qrya Pcode | blank_info_sec1 = C2962 | website = | footnotes = }} '''Arzah''' ({{langx|ar|أرزة}}); also spelled ''Arze'' or ''Arzeh''; also known as '''al-Arzah al-Dabaa''' ({{langx|ar|أرزة الضبعة}})

is a Syrian village located in the Subdistrict of the Hama District in the Hama Governorate. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Arzah had a population of 1,280 in the 2004 census.<ref>{{cite web |title=General Census of Population 2004. |url=https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/syr_pop_2004_sycensus_0.xls}}</ref> Its inhabitants were predominantly Alawites.<ref>{{cite news |date=26 August 2014 |title=Alawites prepare as IS, Jabhat al-Nusra close in on regime areas |url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/08/syria-jihadist-threat-homs.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140830101058/https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/08/syria-jihadist-threat-homs.html |archive-date=30 August 2014 |access-date=15 May 2015 |work=Al-Monitor |publisher=Al-Monitor}}</ref>

10–12 Arzah villagers were killed in a sectarian massacre in February 2025 by Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah.<ref name="isw14feb2">{{Cite web |last1=Ganzeveld |first1=Annika |last2=Reddy |first2=Ria |last3=Campa |first3=Kelly |last4=Moore |first4=Johanna |last5=Moorman |first5=Carolyn |last6=Rezaei |first6=Ben |last7=Braverman |first7=Alexandra |last8=Borens |first8=Avery |last9=Carter |first9=Brian |date=14 February 2025 |title=Iran Update, February 14, 2025 |url=https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-february-14-2025 |access-date=14 March 2025 |website=Institute for the Study of War |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1 February 2025 |title=Gunmen kill 10 in Syria village ‘massacre’: Monitor |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2025/02/01/gunmen-kill-10-in-alawite-village-in-syria-monitor |access-date=15 March 2025 |website=Al Arabiya |language=en}}</ref>

The village was subjected to another massacre in March 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 March 2025 |title=‘They killed him in cold blood’: the cycle of revenge in north-west Syria |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/15/revenge-attacks-alawite-arza-latakia-syria |access-date=15 March 2025 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> As a result of this massacre, the native Alawite population of the village was expelled, and it has now been settled by Sunnis from the nearby town of Khattab.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Al-Tamimi |first=Aymenn Jawad |date=18 July 2025 |title=Photo Essay: The Former Alawite Village of Arza in Hama Countryside |url=https://www.aymennaltamimi.com/p/photo-essay-the-former-alawite-village |access-date=2025-08-15 |website=www.aymennaltamimi.com |language=en}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arzah}} Category:Alawite communities in Syria Category:Populated places in Hama District