Darat Izza(Arabic:دارة عزة,also spelledDarat AzaorDarit Izza) is a town in northernSyria,administratively part of theAleppo Governorate,located 30 kilometres (19 miles) northwest ofAleppo.Nearby localities includeDeir Samaanto the north,Anadanto the east andTurmaninto the southwest.
Darat Izza
دارة عزة | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Darat Izza | |
| Coordinates:36°16′58″N36°51′7″E/ 36.28278°N 36.85194°E | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Aleppo |
| District | Mount Simeon |
| Subdistrict | Darat Izza |
| Control |  Syrian Salvation Government |
| Elevation | 477 m (1,565 ft) |
| Population (2004 census)[2] | |
• Town | 13,525 |
| •Metro | 41,953[1] |
| Time zone | UTC+2(EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3(EEST) |
Population
editAccording to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics(CBS), Darat Izza had a population of 13,525 in the 2004 census.[2]In 2013, its metropolitan area had a population of 41,953.[1]
History
editLeading to Darat Izza is a well-preserved stretch of an ancientRomanroad dating to the 2nd century CE.[3]During theOttoman Empireera, Darat Izza was well known for the cotton fabrics it produced.[4]
During theSyrian Civil waragainst the government ofBashar al-Assad,On June 23, 2012, 25 government supporters were killed in the town by members of theFree Syrian Army(FSA). The government claimed they were ordinary citizens while the FSA and theSyrian Observatory for Human Rightsclaimed they were pro-governmentShabihamilitiamen.[5]They were part of a larger group kidnapped by a rebel group. The fate of the others kidnapped was unknown. Many of the corpses of the shabiha militia killed were in military uniform.[6][7][8]
A secondary school has turned into a police station, a courthouse and a temporary town hall run by the rebels. It is part of a nascent rebel administration that is taking shape in areas of the country where Assad's authority has disappeared as his security forces try to secure control of Syria's main cities: Aleppo, Damascus, Homs and others. A defector from the Assad administration, Abdul Hadi heads a "revolutionary" security force made up of some 40 officers, all of them former policemen in the government. At times, Abdul Hadi's role seems more akin to that of a local mayor than a police officer. Among his self-assigned responsibilities, he monitors local bread supplies, urging bakeries to adjust production according to need. Recent rebel attacks on a government-owned wheat silo and army gasoline depots have given them access to new supplies.[9]On 21 November, rebels attacked the nearby Sheikh Suleiman base (which was under siege for over two months), but were repelled from the area by an army counterattack, in which 25 rebels were killed.[10]on 10 December, the base was taken by opposition forces. A little over 100 regime troops that were left inside the base retreated to the scientific building wearing gas masks.[11]
The town was under the control of theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levantsince September 2013,[12]but they withdrew following a wide-scale offensive led by theArmy of Mujahedeenand theIslamic Front.[13]
SabahandA Haberhave stated in 2017 that theTurkish Armed Forcesmay be establishing a base by the Sheikh Barakat Mountain to facilitate an advance intoIdlib Governorate.[14][15]Recently, the town came under the control of theSyrian National Army.[citation needed]
On 17 February 2022, a fighter of theSyrian Oppositionwas shot dead by aSyrian armysniper during a skirmish near the town.[16][17]
References
edit- ^ab"Dār Ta'izzah".World Gazetteer. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-04-12.Retrieved2013-03-02.
- ^abGeneral Census of Population and Housing 2004Archived2013-01-12 atarchive.today.Syria Central Bureau of Statistics(CBS). Aleppo Governorate.(in Arabic)
- ^Beattie, 2001, p. 245.
- ^Faroqhi, 1997, p. 501.
- ^Syria rebels accused of massacring 25 people in village.BBC News.2012-06-22.
- ^CBS Newshttps://web.archive.org/web/20120622190644/http:// cbsnews /8301-202_162-57458624/syrian-govt-rebels-massacre-dozens-of-shabiha/.Archived fromthe originalon June 22, 2012.
{{cite news}}:Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^AFP (22 June 2012)."Syria says 25 dead in rebel 'massacre'".Emirates 24/7.Retrieved25 October2014.
- ^"Syrian rebels accused of massacring 25 people in village".BBC News.22 June 2012.
- ^"Syria rebels organize towns without Assad".reuters. Aug 16, 2012.
- ^AFP."Syrian army repels rebel attack on base: watchdog".Hurriyet Daily News.Retrieved22 November2012.
- ^"AFP: Syria Islamist rebels seize part of Aleppo base".Archived fromthe originalon February 25, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 20,2016.
- ^"ISIS controls over the majority of Aleppo countryside".Retrieved25 October2014.
- ^"Jihadists kill 31 rebels in Syria: monitor - Region - World - Ahram Online".Retrieved25 October2014.
- ^Triebert, Christiaan (July 2, 2017)."Is this the Site of a Future Turkish Base in Syria?".bellingcat.
- ^"TSK İdlib üssünü buraya kuracak".Sahab(in Turkish). June 28, 2017. Archived fromthe originalon June 28, 2017.
- ^"Syria: NGO reports govt-insurgent armed clashes in north".ansamed.info.17 February 2022.
- ^""De-escalation zone" | Rebel shot dead on Aleppo frontlines, while opposition factions shell regime positions in Idlib countryside ".Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.17 February 2022.
Bibliography
edit- Beattie, Andrew (2001).The Rough Guide to Syria.Vol. 2. Rough Guides.ISBN1858287189.
- Faroqhi, Suraiya (1997).An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire.Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press.ISBN0521574552.