Al-Tabqah ٱلطَّبْقَة | |
|---|---|
 Al-Tabqah in 1995 | |
  Al-Tabqah Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates:35°50′12″N38°32′53″E / 35.83667°N 38.54806°E /35.83667; 38.54806 | |
| Country | Syria |
| Governorate | Raqqa |
| District | al-Tabqah |
| Subdistrict | al-Tabqah |
| Control |  Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria |
| Elevation | 328 m (1,076 ft) |
| Population (2004 census) | |
• Total | 69,425 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Al-Tabqah (Arabic:ٱلطَّبْقَة,romanized: aṭ-Ṭabaqah,Kurdish:Tebqa),[1] is a city inRaqqa Governorate,Syria, approximately 55 kilometres (34 mi) west ofRaqqa. Until the 1960s it had been a relatively small settlement.[2] The city had a population of 69,425 as of the 2004 census.[3] It is part of theTabqa Region of theDemocratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.[4]
Since the fall of the Assad regime, the city has officially reverted to its original name,al-Tabqah. The name literally means "the layer" or "the stratum" in Arabic, and likely refers to the geographic or topographic features of the area — such as stepped terrain or layered rock formations along theEuphrates, where the city and dam are located.
Following theBa'athistMarch 8th Revolution in 1963, the city was renamedal-Thawrah (Arabic:ٱلثَّوْرَة,romanized: ad-Ṭhawrah), meaningThe Revolution, in honor of the regime’s ideological vision and its flagship project, theTabqa Dam.[4]
On 26 November 2012, during theSyrian civil war, a main route fromRaqqa toAleppo passing through al-Tabqah along theEuphrates was dotted with both government andSyrian rebel checkpoints.[5] On 11 February 2013,Syrian opposition rebel groups including thejihadistal-Qaeda-linkedal-Nusra Front andLiwa Owais al-Qorani took over the city.[6] On 21 November, there was fierce fighting between government troops and rebels in the town,[7] but by 25 November, the rebels were back in control.
In January 2014, TheIslamic State took control of the city.[8] During ISIL rule, the town'sCatholic,Antiochian Orthodox Church andAssyrian Church of the East churches were turned into a parking garage, a weapons factory and a barn, withISIL militants destroying all Christian symbols on the three churches. TheShia Al Zahraa' Mosque was destroyed and anIsmaili place of worship was turned into a children's training centre.[9] In addition, high ranking IS members would reside in the city, to escape the bombardments on its capital Raqqa.
On 22 March 2017, theSyrian Democratic Forces began theBattle of Tabqa to retake the city, as theinternational coalition assisted by conducting airstrikes.SOHR reported that the airstrikes killed or injured more than 40 people,[10] while theBBC reported 27 killed and 40 wounded.[11] On May 10, 2017, the SDF successfully recaptured the city,[12][13] during which an estimated 40% of the buildings were either damaged or destroyed.[14]
Prior to the Civil War, the majority of the city's inhabitants wereSunniArabs, withKurdish, Armenian,Assyrian as well as Ismaili and Shiite Arab minorities.[15] The Assyrian minority consisted of around 1,000 people, with about half belonging to theAssyrian Church of the East, originating from the Khabour River villages, and the other half beingSyriac Orthodox Christians, along with a fewChaldean Catholic,Syriac Catholic andProtestant families.[16] But now the Christians have left and very few returned after liberation.[17]
TheTabqa Dam andLake Assad on theEuphrates, an important energy source for Syria, are near the town.[14]
| Climate data for Al-Tabqah | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 11.1 (52.0) | 13.8 (56.8) | 18.5 (65.3) | 24.2 (75.6) | 30.3 (86.5) | 35.1 (95.2) | 37.7 (99.9) | 37.7 (99.9) | 34.2 (93.6) | 27.9 (82.2) | 20.0 (68.0) | 12.7 (54.9) | 25.3 (77.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 6.0 (42.8) | 8.0 (46.4) | 11.9 (53.4) | 16.8 (62.2) | 22.2 (72.0) | 26.6 (79.9) | 29.0 (84.2) | 29.0 (84.2) | 25.4 (77.7) | 19.6 (67.3) | 12.8 (55.0) | 7.5 (45.5) | 17.9 (64.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.0 (33.8) | 2.2 (36.0) | 5.4 (41.7) | 9.4 (48.9) | 14.2 (57.6) | 18.2 (64.8) | 20.4 (68.7) | 20.4 (68.7) | 16.6 (61.9) | 11.3 (52.3) | 5.7 (42.3) | 2.3 (36.1) | 10.6 (51.1) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 37 (1.5) | 24 (0.9) | 34 (1.3) | 25 (1.0) | 15 (0.6) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.0) | 10 (0.4) | 18 (0.7) | 32 (1.3) | 196 (7.7) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org[18] | |||||||||||||
Among the reasons why many Christians have not returned to Raqqa and other cities in the province, such as Tabqa, is that "SDF-affiliated factions have prevented them from returning to their homes, with the Northern Democratic Brigade currently controlling the homes of Christians in Tabqa," Murad said.
