Afrin عفرين Efrîn | |
|---|---|
 Afrin, 2009 | |
 Interactive map of Afrin | |
  Afrin | |
| Coordinates:36°30′30″N36°52′9″E / 36.50833°N 36.86917°E /36.50833; 36.86917 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Aleppo |
| District | Afrin |
| Subdistrict | Afrin |
| Control | Syrian transitional government |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,850 km2 (1,490 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 270 m (890 ft) |
| Population (2004 census)[1] | |
• Total | 36,562 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (Arabia Standard Time) |
Afrin (Arabic:عفرين,romanized: Ifrīn;Kurdish:Efrîn) is aKurdish majority city in northernSyria.[2][3] In theAfrin District, it is part of theAleppo Governorate. The total population of the district as of 2020[update] was recorded at 172,095 people, of whom 70,000 lived in the town of Afrin itself.
The town and district are named after theAfrin River. The city is split into two distinct halves by the river. It is located in the westernmost part of Syrian Kurdistan.
As a result ofOperation Olive Branch, thePeople's Defense Units of theAutonomous Administration of North and East Syria ("Rojava" or "AANES") withdrew after the city'sencirclement from Afrin on 17 March 2018 and theSyrian National Army andTurkish Armed Forces captured Afrin the next day, bringing it under theTurkish occupation of northern Syria.[4]
While thousands fled as theSyrian Democratic Forces of the AANES retreated, an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 people remained in Afrin city after the Turkish capture.[5] After thecivil war largely ended, control of the city was transferred to the newly installed Syrian government in early 2025. By October 2025, the Afrin administration announced 20,000 families have returned to Afrin since the fall of the Assad regime.[6]
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About 8 km south of the town of Afrin, there are the remains of aSyro-Hittite settlement known asAin Dara. In a field northwest of the city, a 9th or 8th century BCLuwian stele (named the Afrin stele) was discovered; it is a fragment of a full stele as only the middle section survives, which in turn is damaged with the right side destroyed, taking with it parts of the right edge of the front and left edge of the back.[8] The stele's front shows a part of a relief; a short fringed kilt usually worn byTeshub, the Hittite storm god, is shown. The city fell under the control of theNeo-Assyrian Empire between the 9th and 6th centuries BC, and subsequently under theNeo-Babylonian Empire,Achaemenid Empire andSeleucid Empire[8]
Cyrrhus overlooking the Afrin once served as a military base for theRoman Empire when it conducted campaigns against theArmenian Empire to the north. By the4th century, it had become an important centre for Christianity with its own bishop.[9]
The Afrin Valley was part ofRoman Syria until theMuslim conquest of the Levant in 637.[10] The Afrin was known asOinoparas (Koine Greek:Οινοπάρας) in theSeleucid era; in the Roman era the name becameUfrenus, whence the Arab vernacularʿAfrīn, ʿIfrīn, adopted as KurdishEfrîn.
The area was briefly conquered by thePrincipality of Antioch but again came underMuslim rule in 1260 following theMongol invasions. In theOttoman period, the area was part of theKilis Province.
Although it is not contiguous with the mainarea of Kurdish settlement, the Afrin valley seems to have seen Kurdish settlement by at least the 16th-17th centuries, as a British traveller by the name William Biddulph, records in 1599 that a people, calledCoords, who "Worship the Devil", dwell in the mountains betweenİskenderun andAleppo.[11] It is likely that these wereYezidi Kurds, who have historically been accused of being devil-worshippers by outsiders.[12]
In 18th century, Afrin was referred to as theSancak of the Kurds in Ottoman documents.[13]
With the drawing of theSyria–Turkey border in 1923, Afrin became detached from Kilis Province and was part ofFrench-administrated Syria (i.e. theState of Aleppo,State of Syria (1924–30),Syrian Republic (1930–58)) and was eventually incorporated in modern Syria at the state's formation in 1961.
The town of Afrin was founded as a market in the 19th century. In 1929, the number of permanent residents was 800, growing to 7,000 by 1968. The town was developed by France under theFrench mandate of Syria. The main square is Afrin bus station, and the old settlement area stretches northward on the slope of a hill, but more recently habitations have spread to the other side of the river and extend as far to the south-east as the neighboring village ofTurandah.
Since the Turkish annexation ofHatay Province in 1939, the Afrin District is now almost surrounded by theSyria–Turkey border, apart from the border with theAzaz District to the east and a short border with theMount Simeon District to the southeast.
There was an outbreak of civil unrest on 16 March 2004, during which three people were killed bySyrian police. In 1999, the arrest of Kurdish leaderAbdullah Öcalan (by theTurkish National Intelligence Organization inNairobi, Kenya in February 1999)[14] triggered renewed clashes between Kurdish protesters and the police.
During theSyrian civil war, Syrian government forces withdrew from the city in the summer of 2012. The People's Defense Units took control of the city soon afterward.[15][16][17]
Afrin Canton as ade facto autonomous part was declared on 29 January 2014,[18][19] the town of Afrin being the administrative center.[20][21] The assembly electedHêvî Îbrahîm Mustefa prime minister, who later appointedRemzi Şêxmus andEbdil Hemid Mistefa to work as deputies.[22]
Between 2012 and 2018, the YPG, the official defence force of the canton, was criticized for recruiting child soldiers, committing arbitrary arrests and failing to address unsolved killings and disappearances. According to the reports, the YPG and Asayish were also accused of forcibly recruiting civilians, arresting political activists and displacing Arabs whose homes were later stolen and looted. Displaced Arabs accused the Kurdish security forces of imposing taxes and restrictions on the population in order to force them to leave and change the demography.[23][24][25][26][27][28]
On 20 January 2018, the Turkish army began theOperation Olive Branch alleging that the Government ruling in Afrin were terrorists.[29] On the same day, theTurkish Air Force bombed more than 100 targets in Afrin.[30] On 28 January 2018,Syria's antiquities department and the British-basedSyrian Observatory for Human Rights said that Turkish shelling had seriously damaged theancient temple of Ain Dara at Afrin. Syria called for international pressure on Turkey "to prevent the targeting of archaeological and cultural sites".[31][32][33] On 20 February 2018, a Syrian army convoy consisting of 50 vehicles had arrived in Afrin through the Ziyarat border crossing and were deployed to different areas. Five vehicles reached the center of the city of Afrin.[34]
On 14 March 2018, Redur Xelil, the senior official of theSyrian Democratic Forces accused Turkey of settling Arab and Turkmen families in the villages captured by Turkish army. A senior Turkish official denied the accusations.[35]
On 18 March 2018, on the 58th day ofOperation Olive Branch, theSyrian National Army and theTurkish Armed Forces captured Afrin from the YPG and theYPJ.[36] Shortly after its capture, SNA fighterslooted parts of the city and destroyed numerous Kurdish symbols, including a statue ofKāve, as Turkish Army troops solidified control by raisingTurkish flags and banners over the city.[37][38] In areas which were captured by the Olive Branch forces, theTurkish Red Crescent (TRC) has provided population with help which covered the basic needs between 15 February and 15 March 2018.[39]
After the capture of Afrin by the Turkish led forces, the city came under the control of theGovernment of Turkey, which provides the administration.[40]
On 12 April 2018, a Turkish-backed interim council was elected in Afrin, consisting of 20 "elders from the city" – 11 Kurds, eight Arabs, and one Turkmen, Turkish state media reported.[41] The council is headed by a Kurd named Zuhair Haider who, in an interview with the state-run Anadolu Agency, expressed his gratitude to Turkey and vowed to "serve" the local citizens.[5]
In June 2018, theUnited Nations published a report stating that the security situation under Turkish-backed rebel control remains volatile. TheOHCHR had received reports of lawlessness and rampant criminality, such as theft, harassment, cruel treatment and other abuse, and murders committed by several Turkish-backed armed groups, especially by theSultan Murad andHamza Divisions. The OCHR stated that civilians, particularly ethnic Kurds from Afrin, are being targeted for discrimination by the same Turkish-backed fighters.[42]
On 2 August 2018,Amnesty International reported that the Turkish forces were giving Syrian armed groups free rein to commit serious human rights abuses against civilians in the northern city of Afrin.[43] The research had found the Turkish-backed fighters have involved in arbitrary detentions, torture, forced displacement, enforced disappearances, confiscation of property, and looting.[43]
On 28 April 2020, abombing in Afrin killed 40 people, including 11 children. No group claimed responsibility. Turkey blamed theYPG for the attack.[44]
On 11 October 2021, a car bombing killed at least six people.[45][46]
Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) entered the city on 13 October 2022, duringclashes between SNA groups in the region.[47] They later retreated.[48]
A group affiliated with theSyrian caretaker government, described as "Public Security Forces", entered Afrin in early February 2025.[49] On September 2025, the Afrin administration's press unit told theRudaw Media Network that the Turkish intelligence, provincial, special forces, gendarmerie, counter-terrorism, and police forces in the Syrian Kurd city of Afrin have completely withdrawn from the city center and districts.[50]
The World Health Organization reported that Afrin counted with four hospitals before March 2018.[51] Starting April 2018, Physical condition in hospitals and health centers has been improved. Hospital health centers in Afrin district center were put into service. In addition, mobile health screening vehicles, which include a team of doctors and nurses, started to provide health services by visiting all towns and villages at certain intervals since the beginning of April 2018. According to the data obtained from theHatay Governorship, 17 thousand 236 people were examined and 2 thousand 288 people were vaccinated in the health units that started operations in early April and where 68 Turkish personnel were employed. 42 children were born in Afrin State Hospital, where 4 new dialysis devices serve.[52]
In August 2015, theUniversity of Afrin started teaching, with initial programs in literature, engineering and economics, including institutes for medicine, topographic engineering, music and theater, business administration and theKurdish language.[53] In January 2018, the university closed due to Operation Olive Branch and did not open after the city was captured by Turkish-backed forces.[54] In October 2019, Turkey announced that theUniversity of Gaziantep will open a Faculty of Education in Afrin.[55] In February 2019, it was reported that Turkey was assuming control over the educational matters in Afrin, providing training to teachers andturkifiying the curriculum taught in the schools.[29]BBC also reported that Turkey enabled the establishment of a religiousİmam Hatip school in Afrin.[56]
Theolive tree is the symbol of Afrin. Afrin is a production center for olives. Since the Turkish army captured Afrin, the olives have been confiscated by the Turkish backed forces and exported to Turkey.[57]Olive oil pressing andtextiles are some of the city's local industries. Since the Turkish capture of Afrin, only companies registered in Turkey are permitted to do business in the city.[56] On 9 November 2018,Turkey'strade ministerRuhsar Pekcan announced the opening of aborder gate with Afrin dubbed "Olive Branch" - after the operational name of the Turkish offensive that captured the city months before.[58]
In late 2018 a delegation from theTurkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources inspected the situation in Afrin and instructed a renovation of the electricity infrastructure.[59][60] On 13 January 2019, body filling, water intake structure, reinforced concrete and mechanical cover systems were completed and repaired by the TurkishState Hydraulic Works (DSI), forAfrin Dam. In this way, the water requirement of the city is re-established.[61][62]
Afrin has ahot-summer Mediterranean climate with hot dry summers and cool winters with moderate rain and occasional snow.The average high temperature in January is 9 °C and the average high temperature in July is 34 °C. The snow falls usually in January, February or December. Afrin's yearly rainfall ranges between 500 and 600 mm and the average rate of humidity is 61%. Afrin is surrounded by olive trees.
| Climate data for Afrin | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 18 (64) | 22 (72) | 26 (79) | 35 (95) | 41 (106) | 41 (106) | 43 (109) | 46 (115) | 42 (108) | 38 (100) | 28 (82) | 21 (70) | 46 (115) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9 (48) | 12 (54) | 16 (61) | 22 (72) | 26 (79) | 29 (84) | 34 (93) | 34 (93) | 28 (82) | 25 (77) | 17 (63) | 11 (52) | 22 (72) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 6 (43) | 8 (46) | 11 (52) | 16 (61) | 20 (68) | 24 (75) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 23 (73) | 20 (68) | 13 (55) | 8 (46) | 17 (63) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2 (36) | 4 (39) | 7 (45) | 11 (52) | 15 (59) | 19 (66) | 22 (72) | 22 (72) | 18 (64) | 15 (59) | 8 (46) | 4 (39) | 12 (54) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −11 (12) | −7 (19) | −7 (19) | 0 (32) | 6 (43) | 10 (50) | 14 (57) | 11 (52) | 6 (43) | 2 (36) | −3 (27) | −6 (21) | −11 (12) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 110 (4.3) | 85 (3.3) | 60 (2.4) | 40 (1.6) | 30 (1.2) | 10 (0.4) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 15 (0.6) | 50 (2.0) | 70 (2.8) | 95 (3.7) | 565 (22.3) |
| Average rainy days | 16 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 88 |
| Average snowy days | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 84 | 76 | 69 | 65 | 51 | 49 | 41 | 44 | 52 | 56 | 67 | 83 | 61 |
| Source: Weather Online, Weather Base, BBC Weather, MyForecast and My Weather 2 | |||||||||||||
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