In 2005 18 people from Hayalin were detained in mass countrywide arrests of suspected Islamists or membership of the Muslim Brotherhood, a serious offense in Syria.[3] During the ongoing Syrian Civil War that began in 2011, Hayalin has experienced violence as a result of fighting between government forces and opposition rebels. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that government forces shelled the village on 13 May 2012.[4] Rebels claimed to have captured Hayalin On 17 December along with a string of other towns during an offensive against the Hama region. According to the Local Coordination Committees (LCC), security forces reportedly surrounded checkpoints outside the village, leading to doubts as to whether rebels had full control over Hayalin, unlike the other places they captured in the operation.[5] On 7 July 2013, the Syrian Army captured the town.[6]
