Jump to content

Tell Rifaat

Coordinates:36°28′24″N37°05′50″E/ 36.4733°N 37.0972°E/36.4733; 37.0972
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tell Rifaat
تل رفعت
City
Tell Rifaat is located in Syria
Tell Rifaat
Tell Rifaat
Location of Tell Rifaat in Syria
Coordinates:36°28′24″N37°05′50″E/ 36.4733°N 37.0972°E/36.4733; 37.0972
CountrySyria
GovernorateAleppo
DistrictAzaz
SubdistrictTell Rifaat
Elevation
457 m (1,499 ft)
Population
(2004)[1]
20,514
Time zoneUTC+2(EET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+3(EEST)
GeocodeC1621

Tell Rifaat(Arabic:تل رفعت,romanized:Tall Rifʿat,also spelledTel Rifaat,Tel Rif'atorTal Rifaat) is a city in northernAleppo Governorate,northwesternSyria.Located roughly 40 kilometres (25 mi) north ofAleppo,the town is the administrative center ofNahiya Tell Rifaat.Nearby localities includeAzazto the north,Mare'to the east,Kafr Nayato the south,Deir JmalandOqaybato the southwest andIbbin Samaanto the west. In the 2004 census, Tell Rifaat had a population of 20,514.[1]

During theSyrian Civil War,Tell Rifaat was captured by theFree Syrian Armyin 2012, theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levantin 2014, and theIslamic Frontin 2015. During this time, the town was bombed several times by theSyrian governmentand its allies. Tell Rifaat wascapturedby theSyrian Democratic Forceson 16 February 2016 after heavy Russian air strikes which destroyed all three health facilities in the town.[2]

History

[edit]

Tell Rifaat has been inhabited since theIron Agewhen it was known as "Arpad."[3]It became the capital of the north SyrianAramaeanstate ofBit Agusiestablished by Gus of Yahan in the 9th-century BCE.[3]Bit Agusistretched from theA'zazarea in the north toHamathin the south.[4]

Arpad later became a major vassal city of theKingdom of Urartu.In 743 BCE, during theUrartu-Assyria War,theNeo-AssyriankingTiglath-Pileser IIlaid siege to Arpad following the defeat of the Urartuan army ofSarduri IIatSamsat.The siege ended with the Assyrian capture of the city in 743 BCE.[5]Afterward Arpad served a provincial capital.[6]The remains of Arpad's walls are still preserved in Tell Rifaat to the height of 8 meters.[7]

A settlement existed on the modern-day site of Tell Rifaat during theSeleucidperiod (301 BCE-63 BCE). A hoard of coins from this period was discovered in 1967.[8]After the nearbyTell Aran,Tell Rifaatis the largesttellin theJabal Semʻānregion.[9]

Syrian Civil War

[edit]

For a period during theSyrian Civil Warwhich began in March 2011, Tell Rifaat came under siege by Syrian security forces. During the siege, residents were unable to receive food supplies, including bread, fromAleppo.[10]

In the early summer of 2012,Syrian governmentauthorities withdrew from Tell Rifaat following fighting with theFree Syrian Army(FSA). Following this, government authorities in the town were replaced by a council made up of localIslamicscholars, judges and formerSyrian Armyofficers, ruling in the basis ofSharia.[11]Since its capture by the FSA, opposition rebels have been transporting flour for bread fromTurkeyto Tell Rifaat.[10]

On 8 August 2012, Tell Rifaat was bombed by theSyrian Air Force,resulting in the deaths of 6 people, all members of the Blaw family.[12]Opposition activists based in Aleppo claimed that Syrian Army forces were attempting to cut off the FSA's transport route between Tell Rifaat and Aleppo.[13]

By November 2013, the town came under control of theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant(ISIL) after they ousted the localAl-Tawhid Brigade.[14]In January 2014, ISIL forces withdrew from the northern Aleppo area, and rebel fighters, mainly members of theAl-Nusra FrontandIslamic Front,defeated ISIL militants in the town. The Conquest Brigade of the Islamic Front came into control of the town.[15]

By January 2015, Tell Rifaat was under the control of the Conquest Brigade of the Islamic Front.[15]

On 15 February 2016, the town was captured by theKurdishYPGand theSyrian Democratic Forces,led by theArmy of Revolutionaries.[16]Russianairstrikes, which preceded the SDF assault, forced the majority of the population to escape.[17]Since the SDF capture of Tell Rifaat, the town became the headquarters of the Army of Revolutionaries.[18]After theTurkish Armyand allied rebel groups capturedAfrinduringOperation Olive Branch,displaced residents of Tel Rifaat rallied inAzazto demand the expulsion of the SDF from the town.[19]At the end of March 2018, theSyrian Republican Guardand theRussian Armed Forcesentered the town.[20]

On December 2, 2019 a Turkish artillery attack killed 8 children, all under 15 years old, on their walk to school.[21][22]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ab"2004 Census Data forNahiya Tell Rifaat"(in Arabic). SyrianCentral Bureau of Statistics.Also available in English:UN OCHA."2004 Census Data".Humanitarian Data Exchange.
  2. ^"Syrian and Russian forces targeting hospitals as a strategy of war".Amnesty International. 2016-06-03.Retrieved2016-05-05.
  3. ^abLipinsky, 2000, p. 195.
  4. ^Lipinsky, 2000, p. 99.
  5. ^Healy, 1992, p. 25.
  6. ^Kipfer, p. 626.
  7. ^Lipinsky, 2000, p. 529.
  8. ^Grainger, 1997, p. 787.
  9. ^Lipinsky, 2000, p. 208.
  10. ^ab"Tel Rifaat residents hail rebels for control of town".Hurriyet Daily News. 2012-08-07.Retrieved2012-08-27.
  11. ^Zalewski, Piotr.Syria’s Rebel Judges Promise Sharia Justice With Mercy.TIME.2012-08-10.
  12. ^Syrian Troops Push Into Aleppo To Oust Rebels.National Public Radio,originally published byAssociated Press.2012-08-09.
  13. ^Clashes rage in Syria's rebel bastions.Sydney Morning Herald,originally published byAssociated Press.2012-08-09.
  14. ^Al Qaeda-linked group strengthens hold in northern SyriaCNN.
  15. ^ab"Special Report: Northern Storm and the Situation in Azaz (Syria)".MERIA Journal. 7 January 2015.Retrieved8 January2015.
  16. ^Nick Paton Walsh."Syria war near Aleppo: Huge impact on Sunni moderates".CNN.
  17. ^"The Syrian Refugees Trapped Between an Angry Turkey and a Vengeful Assad".Time magazine. 18 February 2016.Retrieved24 June2016.
  18. ^"Jaysh al-Thuwar: Regime and opposition claims are baseless".Hawar News Agency.12 February 2017.
  19. ^"Residents of Syria's Tel Rifaat demand Turkey to free their town like Afrin".TRT. 2018-03-24.Retrieved2018-03-28.
  20. ^"Video confirmation: Tal Riffat under control of Syrian Army Republican Guard and Russian Army".Al Masdar News.Retrieved30 March2018.
  21. ^"Eight children reportedly killed in attacks on Tal Rifaat in rural Aleppo in the north of Syria".UNICEF.Retrieved15 December2020.
  22. ^"Several children killed in Turkish artillery attack in northern Syria, monitor says".France 24.2019-12-02.Retrieved2024-02-14.

Bibliography

[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tell_Rifaat&oldid=1223474622"