Aqarib عقارب Aqarib al-Safiyah | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Aqarib Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates:35°06′15″N37°12′38″E / 35.104133°N 37.210547°E /35.104133; 37.210547 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Hama |
| District | Salamiyah |
| Subdistrict | Sabburah |
| Population (2004) | |
• Total | 3,830 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Aqarib (Arabic:عقارب), also known asAqarib al-Safiyah (Arabic:عقارب الصافية), is a village in centralSyria, administratively part of theSalamiyah District of theHama Governorate. It is located 45 kilometres (28 mi) east ofHama and 17 kilometers (11 mi) east ofSalamiyah, on the margin of theSyrian Desert.[1] Nearby localities includeSalamiyah andTell al-Tut to the southwest,Uqayribat to the southeast andSabburah to the north. According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics, Aqarib had a population of 3,830 in the 2004 census.[2] Its inhabitants are predominantlyIsmailis.[3]
Aqarib was founded in 1876 byIsmaili migrants from the area ofShaizar, a town west ofHama. The Ismailis had been evicted from their homes by a prominent landowning family based in Hama who owned the area around Shaizar. Part of the reason the migrants chose to settle in Aqarib was its proximity to Salamiyah, the center of Ismaili life in Syria.[3] On 18 May 2017,ISIL fighters attacked the village at dawn and after regime forces fled the village the militants killed at least 52 civilians, including 16 children and 11 women.[4]
