Al-Lataminah اللطامنة Latamneh | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Al-Lataminah in 2014 | |
  Al-Lataminah Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates:35°19′15″N36°37′21″E / 35.32083°N 36.62250°E /35.32083; 36.62250 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Hama |
| District | Mahardah |
| Subdistrict | Kafr Zita |
| Population (2004) | |
• Total | 16,267 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Al-Lataminah (Arabic:اللطامنة, also spelledLatamneh orLatamnah) is a town in northernSyria, administratively part of theHama Governorate, located 39 kilometres (24 mi) northwest ofHama. Nearby localities includeKarnaz to the northwest,Kafr Zita to the north,Murik to the northeast,Suran to the east,Taybat al-Imam to the southeast,Halfaya andMahardah to the south,Shaizar andKafr Hud to the southwest andHayalin andal-Suqaylabiyah to the west. According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Lataminah had a population of 16,267 in the 2004 census, making it the second largest locality in thenahiyah of Kafr Zita.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantlySunni Muslims.[2]
Al-Lataminah and its vicinity contain several caves, many of which had been used as homes for the village's residents. On the eve of the civil war, the use of modern housing had prevailed, but a few families continued to live in the caves.[3] During the course of the war, most of residents were displaced.[4]
Al-Lataminah was inhabited during theStone Age and excavations by teams from theArab world, theUnited States,France and theNetherlands have been held at the site.[5] One such excavation was held in 1965 and several artifacts were uncovered.[6]
When Swiss travelerJohann Ludwig Burckhardt visited the region in the early 19th century, duringOttoman rule, al-Lataminah was described as the "principal village" of Sanjak Hama.[7] During this period the village was part of the Sanjak (District) ofHama and in late 1829, it consisted of 84faddan, larger than any other village in the district except forTaldou. It paid 8,250qirsh in taxes, the highest rate of the revenue-producing (hasil) villages in the district.[8] In 1838, it had a predominantlySunni Muslim population.[9] Towards the end ofEgyptian Khedivate rule (1832–1841), in 1840, al-Lataminah was a large village that paid a moderate tax rate of 700 qirsh, as result of a tax decrease for rural villages at the expense of urban towns.[10]
The Syrian state media reported that on 9 March 2012, al-Lataminah's mayor was kidnapped from his home by anti-government fighters. His car had been stolen earlier on 30 September 2011.[11] On 7 April 2012 secretUnited Nations monitors reported that dozens of residents were killed when the village was shelled by government forces, days before a truce was to be established.[12] The fatality count ranged from 24 to 27 and activists reported that the shelling was part of an attempt by security forces to raid the town after two days of clashes with defectors from theSyrian Army.[13]
In September 2012Al Jazeera English classified al-Lataminah as a "rebel village". A girl was reportedly killed and several more people were injured as a result of shelling by government forces on 12 September.[14] In a mid-December 2012rebel offensive against government-held positions in the Hama Governorate, al-Lataminah was captured by opposition forces along with a string of several other villages.[15]
Gas attacks were reported as occurring in Al-Lataminah in October 2016.[16] Additional attacks occurred on 24 and 25 March in 2017.[17] They were substantially confirmed a year later by theOrganisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) as having been asarin gas attack, and achlorine gas attack, respectively.[18] Another sarin gas attack occurred on 30 March 2017.[19] On April 8, 2020, the OPCW issued a report determining that theSyrian Air Force was the perpetrator of these chemical weapon attacks.[20]
From 2017, the city was situated in the southernmost sector of rebel-held territory (sometimes called theIdlib pocket[citation needed] although Al-Lataminah is part of Hama Governate). As a result, the city was exposed to attacks by theSyrian Arab Armed Forces from three directions, and suffered repeated bombardments andRussian airstrikes despite the cease-fire arrangements supposedly provided by the 2016Astana accord.
On 20 August 2019, theSyrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the rebel andIslamist factions includingjihadist groups likeHayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) had withdrawn from Lataminah in north Hama province amida military operation by Syrian government forces.[21]
On 30 November 2024, HTS rebels recaptured the city from the Syrian Army during theHama offensive.[22][23]
Today, all of Lataminah's surviving inhabitants, along with the inhabitants of surrounding villages, have been displaced, many into refugee camps in northern Syria or as refugees in Turkey and elsewhere
