Kafr Batna كفر بطنا Kfar Batna | |
|---|---|
  Kafr Batna | |
| Coordinates:33°30′N36°22′E / 33.500°N 36.367°E /33.500; 36.367 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Rif Dimashq |
| District | Markaz Rif Dimashq |
| Subdistrict | Kafr Batna |
| Population (2004) | |
• Total | 22,535 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (EEST) |
Kafr Batna (Arabic:كفر بطنا, also spelledKfar Batna andKafar Batna) is a town in theRif Dimashq Governorate in southernSyria and a suburb ofDamascus.[1][2] It is approximately 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) east of theBab Sharqi neighborhood.[3] Kafr Batna had a population of 22,535 in 2004.[4]
Kafr Batna's name suggests it was previously anAramaean village during theIron Age.[1]
During aQaysi revolt against theAbbasid governor of Syria, Qaysi rebels led by Muhammad ibn Bayhas camped out in the town in 842 CE before proceeding to Damascus. There, they attracted the support of other villages in theGhouta region which aided them in their failed insurrection.[5]Yaqut al-Hamawi visited the town in 1226, duringAyyubid rule, and described it as "a village in the Ghautah of Damascus, in the Iklim (District) ofDa'iyyah." He also noted that some members of theUmayyad tribe, which ruled Syria until the mid-8th-century, still lived in Kafr Batna.[6]
TheOttoman Empire annexed Syria including Kafr Batna in the early 16th-century and continued to rule until 1918. By 1535, the settlement was home to 77 households and 6 bachelors.[7] In the mid-18th-century, a prominent businessman and scholar fromHamah, Abd al-Qadir al-Kaylani, endowed large swathes of farmland property in Kafr Batna in awaqf (religious endowment) to be supervised by his wife al-Sharifa Rahmana.[8] During the Ottoman period, a Sheikh Muhammad ibn Isa al-Qari' endowed a share of his vineyards in the town which was supervised by members of his family.[9]
Some of Kafr Batna's inhabitants have participated on the side of the opposition during theSyrian uprising against the government in Syria. On 29 January 2012,Syrian Army tanks entered the suburb to force out rebels from the oppositionFree Syrian Army (FSA) who were positioned there. Although it has not been verified, opposition activists reported that five FSA soldiers and 14 civilians,[10] including at least one minor,[2] were killed during the raid.[10]
On 4 February 2013, it was reported that the suburb was taken over by the rebels as part of a large push into the capital[11]
On 5 February 2018, the military launched airstrikes on the town. The attack killed 78 people, mostly civilians, including 19 children.[12] On 17 March, the Syrian army captured Kafr Batna.[13] Kafr Batna was recaptured by rebel forces in the2024 Rebel Offensives andFall of Damascus.
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