Atarib أتارب | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Atarib Location of Atarib in Syria | |
| Coordinates:36°08′20″N36°49′48″E / 36.1389°N 36.83°E /36.1389; 36.83 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Aleppo |
| District | Atarib |
| Subdistrict | Atarib |
| Occupation | |
| Elevation | 310 m (1,020 ft) |
| Population (2004)[1] | 10,657 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Geocode | C1022 |
Atarib (Arabic:أتارب,romanized: ʾAtārib), also known asAtharib orAthareb, is a town in western Aleppo countryside,Aleppo Governorate, Syria. Located 25 kilometres (16 miles) west of the city ofAleppo and 25 km (16 mi) southeast ofReyhanlı in Turkish-administeredHatay Province, it is the regional center ofAtarib District. In the 2004 census, the town of Atarib had a population of 10,657.[1]
In December 1110,Tancred, Prince of Galilee pounded the walls of Atarib, which forcedSeljuq ruler ofAleppo,Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan, to purchase peace by handing Atarib andZardana to Tancred, in addition to twenty thousanddinars and ten of best Arab horses.[2]
In August 1119,Ilghazi, joined byToghtekin and two other Muslim chieftains, captured Atarib following theBattle of Ager Sanguinis. However, Atarib was ceded back to the Crusaders a year later during an internal conflict between Ilghazi and his son Suleiman.[3] Later on, the Zengid leaderImad ad-Din Zengi conqueredKafartab and other fortress cities along the eastern frontier of thePrincipality of Antioch's territories, such as Atarib,Maarrat al-Numan and Zardana in the spring of 1135.[4] Afterwards, Atarib was briefly captured by Byzantine EmperorJohn II Komnenos during his campaigns in Syria in 1138.
The city was later devastated by the1138 Aleppo earthquake, then occupied by Muslims.
During theSyrian Civil War, Atarib has been a rebel-held town. Anti-Assad regime demonstrations took place in Atarib early in the Syrian revolution, in April 2011.[5] It became a centre for defected officers from theSyrian Arab Army, who would go on to form the nucleus of theFree Syrian Army and specifically its al-Mutasem Bi’ allah brigade.[5] Government forces were forced out in July 2012.[5] In August 2012, it was reported that every building downtown was damaged, with windows blown out, doors peppered with shrapnel and awnings shredded to ribbons. At the center sat the charred shells of the police station and city hall, which troops occupied in February. For months, local rebels attacked their positions and tried to cut their supply lines. By the time the army left in June, the city was destroyed and deserted. Town leaders have formed military and civil councils and opened a prison that holds some 15 people. The army shelled the town daily, keeping residents away.[6] Only about 4,000 residents remained as of August 2012.[7]
It "is known for its history of civil and armed resistance against both the Syrian government and hard-line Islamist groups" and its residents have driven out bothISIL in 2014 andal-Nusra troops in 2015. By November 2013, the town was controlled by ISIL.[8] By early January 2014, clashes were reported between theIslamic Front and ISIS forces in the town.[9] By April 2014, the town was back under rebel control. By June 2014, clashes were reported between theFSA andal-Nusra; about five days later, most of al-Nusra Front withdrew from the towns of Atarib and Sarmada.[citation needed] Al-Nusra attempted to take control of the city in February 2015. During al-Nusra's campaign to eliminate the FSA-affiliatedHazzm Movement, al-Nusra reportedly threatened to besiege Atarib and demanded the surrender of locals who were members of the Hazzm Movement. However, with support from other rebel groups, Atarib resisted al-Nusra control.[10]
In 2017, it came within one of the "de-escalation zones" brokered betweenRussia,Iran andTurkey, but has been bombed since by government forces, includingstrikes on the marketplace in November 2017,[11][10][5] described by theU.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria as a possiblewar crime, the first time it has explicitly implicated Russia in possible war crimes.[12]
The town was severely damaged by theearthquake of6 February 2023, with hundreds of residents killed or injured.
On 28 November 2024, during theNorthwestern Syria offensive, fifteen civilians were killed in aRussian airstrike in the town.[13]
Atarib has ahot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification:Csa).
| Climate data for Atarib | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 10.6 (51.1) | 12.9 (55.2) | 16.8 (62.2) | 22.2 (72.0) | 28.1 (82.6) | 32.7 (90.9) | 35.0 (95.0) | 35.3 (95.5) | 33.2 (91.8) | 27.1 (80.8) | 18.6 (65.5) | 12.5 (54.5) | 23.8 (74.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 6.6 (43.9) | 7.9 (46.2) | 11.1 (52.0) | 15.7 (60.3) | 20.6 (69.1) | 25.2 (77.4) | 27.8 (82.0) | 28.2 (82.8) | 25.5 (77.9) | 19.8 (67.6) | 12.7 (54.9) | 8.1 (46.6) | 17.4 (63.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.6 (36.7) | 2.9 (37.2) | 5.4 (41.7) | 9.1 (48.4) | 13.1 (55.6) | 17.7 (63.9) | 20.5 (68.9) | 21.0 (69.8) | 17.7 (63.9) | 12.5 (54.5) | 6.8 (44.2) | 3.7 (38.7) | 11.1 (52.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 82 (3.2) | 71 (2.8) | 55 (2.2) | 40 (1.6) | 18 (0.7) | 4 (0.2) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (0.1) | 26 (1.0) | 43 (1.7) | 74 (2.9) | 416 (16.4) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org[14] | |||||||||||||
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