Khasham
Khasham
خِشَام | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Khasham Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates:35°17′55″N40°17′36″E/ 35.29861°N 40.29333°E | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Deir ez-Zor |
| District | Deir ez-Zor |
| Subdistrict | Khasham |
| Population (2004)[1] | |
| • Total | 7,021 |
| Time zone | UTC+2(EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3(EEST) |
| City Qrya Pcode | C5140 |
Khasham,alsoromanizedasKhusham[2][3]orKhsham[3][4](Arabic:خِشَام,romanized:Khišām), is aSyriantownlocated inDeir ez-Zor District,Deir ez-Zor Governorate.According to the SyrianCentral Bureau of Statistics,Khasham had a population of 7,021 in the 2004 census.[1]
Geography
[edit]Khasham is located on theEuphratesriver,[5]on its east bank.[6]It is located to the southeast of the regional capitalDeir ez-Zor.[5]
History
[edit]During theSyrian civil war,Khasham was part of a large territory inDeir ez-Zor Governorateseized by forces of the self-styledIslamic State(IS) terrorist group during its 2014offensivein the region. TheSyrian Observatory for Human Rights(SOHR) reported that on June 23, 2014, IS militants forced residents of Khasham andTabyehto leave the towns, telling them to "accept their repentance" after resisting the group. By July 8, the SOHR reported that the militants were not allowing residents of the two towns to return home.[7]The oil fields in Khasham served as a "major source of revenue" for ISIS during its occupation of the town.[3]
In January 2016, the SOHR reported that sixty-three people in Khasham had been killed in airstrikes byRussianfighter planes.[8]In April 2016, another airstrike, this time by the U.S.-led coalition, targeted a gas distribution station in ISIS-occupied Khasham, and killed at least eight people, according to activists.[9]In September 2017, the oil fields near Khasham were captured by theAutonomous Administration of North and East Syria(AANES) during acampaignby theSyrian Democratic Forces(SDF), supported by theUnited States-ledCJTF–OIR coalition.[2]However, according to conflict mapping serviceLiveuamap,Khasham proper was captured by the Assad regime, not the AANES.[3]
On February 7, 2018, the area near the town was the site of the day-longBattle of Khasham,in which pro-Bashar al-Assadforces, including the Russian mercenaryWagner Group,advanced and opened fire on an outpost manned by the United States and allied SDF forces. After Russian officials claimed the Wagner forces were "not their people", the American and SDF forces bombarded the attackers, killing an estimated 200–300 pro-regime fighters, including many Russians.[10][2][3]
As of March 2021, the "Conoco" outpost near Khasham - named for the American gas companyConocothat once operated the oil fields - was one of the last bases where American soldiers were still stationed on Syrian territory. According to media reports, Russian and allied Syrian troops were located "just across the Euphrates" from the base, "but both sides avoid[ed] straying into the other's territory."[4]
In December 2023, Syrian nonprofit organizationEnab Baladireported on the effects of electricity rationing in Deir ez-Zor and the surrounding regime-controlled villages, including Khasham, noting that blackouts "can reach up to 22 hours of cuts for only two hours of power connection, with some neighborhoods experiencing days without electricity."[11]
References
[edit]- ^ab"General Census of Population 2004".Archived fromthe originalon 13 November 2023.
- ^abcKlimas, Jacqueline (2018-02-07)."U.S.-led forces kill an estimated 100 Syrian regime troops".Politico.Retrieved2024-01-22.
- ^abcdeFrantzman, Seth J. (2018-02-08)."U.S.: More than 100 pro-Syrian forces killed after thwarted attack".The Jerusalem Post.Retrieved2024-01-22.
- ^abCloud, David S. (2021-03-13)."Inside U.S. troops' stronghold in Syria, a question of how long Biden will keep them there".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved2024-01-22.
- ^ab"US-led strikes on Syria pro-regime forces kill 100: US official".France 24.2018-02-08.Retrieved2024-01-23.
- ^"Mobilization on both Euphrates banks; Who lights the fuse?".Enab Baladi.2023-07-28.Retrieved2024-01-23.
- ^Yan, Holly; Said, Samira (2014-07-08)."Floodgates open as ISIS bridges victories between Syria and Iraq".CNN.Retrieved2024-01-22.
- ^"Scores die in suspected Russian strikes in Syria's east".Al Jazeera English.25 January 2016.Retrieved2024-01-22.
- ^"U.S.-led airstrike kills at least eight in Syria".The Denver Post.2014-10-18.Retrieved2024-01-23.
- ^Woody, Christopher (March 18, 2022)."The US 'annihilated' Russian mercenaries in Syria 4 years ago. But in Ukraine, the stakes are much higher".Business Insider.Retrieved2024-01-22.
- ^"Deir Ezzor: Electricity absence drives locals to traditional lighting methods".Enab Baladi.2023-12-28.Retrieved2024-01-23.
