Tell Rifaat تل رفعت | |
|---|---|
City | |
 Tell Rifaat in 2015 | |
  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 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Aleppo |
| District | Azaz |
| Subdistrict | Tell Rifaat |
| Control | Syrian transitional government[1] |
| Elevation | 457 m (1,499 ft) |
| Population (2004)[2] | 20,514 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Geocode | C1621 |
Tell Rifaat (Arabic:تل رفعت,romanized: Tall Rifʿat, also spelledTel Rifaat,Tel Rif'at orTal Rifaat) is a city in northernAleppo Governorate, northwesternSyria. Located roughly 40 kilometres (25 mi) north ofAleppo, the city is the administrative center ofNahiya Tell Rifaat. Nearby localities includeAzaz to the north,Mare' to the east,Kafr Naya to the south,Deir Jmal andOqayba to the southwest andIbbin Samaan to the west. In the 2004 census, Tell Rifaat had a population of 20,514. Its inhabitants areArabs.[3]
During theSyrian Civil War, Tell Rifaat was captured by theFree Syrian Army in 2012, theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant in 2014, and theIslamic Front in 2015. During this time, the town was bombed several times by the government ofBa'athist Syria and its allies. Tell Rifaat wascaptured by theSyrian Democratic Forces on 16 February 2016 after heavy Russian air strikes which destroyed all three health facilities in the town.[4] Following a rebel offensive against the SAA in December 2024, the town once again fell under control of theTurkish-backed rebel forces (SNA &SIG) and was not incorporated into theSyrian caretaker government until January 2025.[5][1]
Tell Rifaat has been inhabited since theIron Age when it was known as "Arpad."[6] It became the capital of the north SyrianAramean state ofBit Agusi established by Gus of Yahan in the 9th-century BCE.[6]Bit Agusi stretched from theA'zaz area in the north toHamath in the south.[7]
Arpad later became a major vassal city of theKingdom of Urartu. In 743 BCE, during theUrartu-Assyria War, theNeo-Assyrian kingTiglath-Pileser II laid siege to Arpad following the defeat of the Urartuan army ofSarduri II atSamsat. The siege ended with the Assyrian capture of the city in 743 BCE.[8] Afterward Arpad served a provincial capital.[9] The remains of Arpad's walls are still preserved in Tell Rifaat to the height of 8 meters.[10]
A settlement existed on the modern-day site of Tell Rifaat during theSeleucid period (301 BCE-63 BCE). A hoard of coins from this period was discovered in 1967.[11] After the nearbyTell Aran,Tell Rifaat is the largesttell in theJabal Semʻānregion.[12]
For a period of about seven months in 2012, Tell Rifaat was besieged by Syrian security forces. During the siege, residents were unable to receive food supplies, including bread, fromAleppo.[13]
In the early summer of 2012,Syrian government authorities 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 localIslamic scholars, judges and formerSyrian Army officers, ruling in the basis ofSharia.[14] Since its capture by the FSA, opposition rebels have been transporting flour for bread fromTurkey to Tell Rifaat.[13]
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.[15] 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.[16]
By November 2013, the town came under control of theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) after they ousted the localAl-Tawhid Brigade.[17] In January 2014, ISIL forces withdrew from the northern Aleppo area, and rebel fighters, mainly members of theAl-Nusra Front andIslamic Front, defeated ISIL militants in the town. The Conquest Brigade of the Islamic Front came into control of the town.[18]
By January 2015, Tell Rifaat was under the control of theConquest Brigade of theIslamic Front.[18]
On 15 February 2016, the town was captured by theKurdishYPG and theSyrian Democratic Forces, led by theArmy of Revolutionaries.[19]Russian airstrikes, which preceded the SDF assault, forced the majority of the population to escape towards rebel-controlled territories or across the border north intoTurkey.[20] Since the SDF capture of Tell Rifaat, the town became the headquarters of the Army of Revolutionaries.[21] After theTurkish Army and allied rebel groups capturedAfrin duringOperation Olive Branch, displaced residents of Tel Rifaat rallied inAzaz to demand the expulsion of the SDF from the town.[22] At the end of March 2018, theSyrian Republican Guard and theRussian Armed Forces entered the town.[23]
On 2 December 2019 a Turkish artillery attack killed eight children, all under 15 years old, on their walk to school.[24][25]
On 1 December 2024, theTurkish-backedSyrian National Army took control of Tell Rifaat and its surrounding villages inOperation Dawn of Freedom.[5][26]
In February 2025, according to some sources, residents returning to Tel Rifaat, Syria, after displacement since 2016, confronted extensive devastation. The town, previously controlled by Kurdish forces and later seized by Turkish-backed rebels, is now characterized by widespread ruins and a complex network of underground military tunnels. These tunnels, constructed beneath homes and public buildings, have compromised structural integrity, complicating reconstruction efforts. Returning families find their homes stripped of essentials like wiring and plumbing. A concrete wall, once a military barrier, now obstructs access to farmland. Despite poor infrastructure, the resilient residents of Tel Rifaat are diligently clearing debris and striving to rebuild their lives.[27]
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