What is "taldou"

Taldou (also spelled Tall Daww, Taldo, Tall Dhu or Taldao ) is a town in the Houla region of northern Syria, north of Homs in the Homs Governorate. Nearby towns include Burj al-Qa'i to the east, Tallaf to the northeast, Kafr Laha and Tell Dahab to the north, Qarmas and Maryamin to the northwest, al-Taybah al-Gharbiyah and al-Shinyah to the west, Kabu to the southwest, Sharqliyya 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. Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.

On 2012-05-28, together with the neighboring village al-Shumariyeh, Taldou was the scene of the Houla massacre in which 108 civilians, including 49 children and 32 women, were killed, allegedly by Syrian Army 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.