Darat Izza#History
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Darat Izza
| native_name = دارة عزة
| settlement_type = Town
| image_skyline =
| image_caption =
| pushpin_map = Syria
| pushpin_mapsize = 250
| coordinates = {{coord|36|16|58|N|36|51|7|E|region:SY|display=inline}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg}} Syria
| subdivision_type1 = Governorate
| subdivision_name1 = Aleppo
| subdivision_type2 = District
| subdivision_name2 = Mount Simeon
| subdivision_type3 = Subdistrict
| subdivision_name3 = Darat Izza
| established_title =
| established_date =
| government_type =
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| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =
| area_total_km2 =
| area_total_sq_mi =
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| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m =477
| population_total = 13,525
| population_as_of = 2004 census
| population_note =
| timezone = EET
| utc_offset = +2
| timezone_DST = EEST
| utc_offset_DST = +3
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| footnotes =
| parts_type = Control
| parts_style = para
| p1 = {{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_Syrian_Salvation_Government.svg}} Syrian Salvation Government
}}
Darat Izza ({{langx|ar|دارة عزة}}, also spelled Darat Aza or Darit Izza) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Aleppo Governorate, located {{convert|30|km|0|abbr=off}} northwest of Aleppo. Nearby localities include Deir Samaan to the north, Anadan to the east and Turmanin to the southwest.
Population
According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Darat Izza had a population of 13,525 in the 2004 census.[http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB02-5-2004.htm General Census of Population and Housing 2004] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130112183808/http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB02-5-2004.htm |date=2013-01-12 }}. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Aleppo Governorate. {{in lang|ar}} In 2013, its metropolitan area had a population of 41,953.
History
Leading to Darat Izza is a well-preserved stretch of an ancient Roman road dating to the 2nd century CE.Beattie, 2001, p. 245. During the Ottoman Empire era, Darat Izza was well known for the cotton fabrics it produced.Faroqhi, 1997, p. 501.
During the Syrian Civil war against the government of Bashar al-Assad, On June 23, 2012, 25 government supporters were killed in the town by members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The government claimed they were ordinary citizens while the FSA and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed they were pro-government Shabiha militiamen.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18551693 Syria rebels accused of massacring 25 people in village]. BBC News. 2012-06-22. They were part of a larger group kidnapped by a rebel group. The fate of the others kidnapped was unknown. Many of the corpses of the shabiha militia killed were in military uniform.{{cite news| url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57458624/syrian-govt-rebels-massacre-dozens-of-shabiha/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622190644/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57458624/syrian-govt-rebels-massacre-dozens-of-shabiha/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=June 22, 2012 | work=CBS News}}{{cite web|url=http://www.emirates247.com/news/world/syria-says-25-dead-in-rebel-massacre-2012-06-22-1.464072|title=Syria says 25 dead in rebel 'massacre'|author=AFP|work=Emirates 24/7|date=22 June 2012 |access-date=25 October 2014}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18551693|title=Syrian rebels accused of massacring 25 people in village|date=22 June 2012|work=BBC News}}
A secondary school has turned into a police station, a courthouse and a temporary town hall run by the rebels. It is part of a nascent rebel administration that is taking shape in areas of the country where Assad's authority has disappeared as his security forces try to secure control of Syria's main cities: Aleppo, Damascus, Homs and others. A defector from the Assad administration, Abdul Hadi heads a "revolutionary" security force made up of some 40 officers, all of them former policemen in the government. At times, Abdul Hadi's role seems more akin to that of a local mayor than a police officer. Among his self-assigned responsibilities, he monitors local bread supplies, urging bakeries to adjust production according to need. Recent rebel attacks on a government-owned wheat silo and army gasoline depots have given them access to new supplies.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-rebels-idUSBRE87F0I620120816|title=Syria rebels organize towns without Assad|date=Aug 16, 2012|publisher=reuters}} {{anchor|Sheikh Suleiman}}On 21 November, rebels attacked the nearby Sheikh Suleiman base (which was under siege for over two months), but were repelled from the area by an army counterattack, in which 25 rebels were killed.{{cite news|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syrian-army-repels-rebel-attack-on-base-watchdog.aspx?pageID=238&nid=35151&NewsCatID=352|title=Syrian army repels rebel attack on base: watchdog|last=AFP|publisher=Hurriyet Daily News|access-date=22 November 2012}} on 10 December, the base was taken by opposition forces. A little over 100 regime troops that were left inside the base retreated to the scientific building wearing gas masks.{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ji0WbnWM_rzlRgPfjKSrEPdCzmKw?docId=CNG.e027e84b338f29df5a62409f0c6ddc57.121 |access-date=February 20, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225183515/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ji0WbnWM_rzlRgPfjKSrEPdCzmKw?docId=CNG.e027e84b338f29df5a62409f0c6ddc57.121 |archive-date=February 25, 2014 |title=AFP: Syria Islamist rebels seize part of Aleppo base }}
The town was under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant since September 2013,{{cite web|url=http://www.alkhabar-ts.com/index.php?page=view_news&id=bsor0v0obfmuma8|title=ISIS controls over the majority of Aleppo countryside|access-date=25 October 2014}} but they withdrew following a wide-scale offensive led by the Army of Mujahedeen and the Islamic Front.{{cite web|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/90878/World/Region/Jihadists-kill--rebels-in-Syria-monitor.aspx|title=Jihadists kill 31 rebels in Syria: monitor - Region - World - Ahram Online|access-date=25 October 2014}}
Sabah and A Haber have stated in 2017 that the Turkish Armed Forces may be establishing a base by the Sheikh Barakat Mountain to facilitate an advance into Idlib Governorate.{{cite news |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017/07/02/future-turkish-base/ |publisher=bellingcat |title=Is this the Site of a Future Turkish Base in Syria? |first=Christiaan |last=Triebert |date=July 2, 2017}}{{cite news |url=http://www.sabah.com.tr/gundem/2017/06/28/tsk-idlib-ussunu-buraya-kuracak |newspaper=Sahab |title=TSK İdlib üssünü buraya kuracak |language=tr |date=June 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170628204850/http://www.sabah.com.tr/gundem/2017/06/28/tsk-idlib-ussunu-buraya-kuracak |archive-date=June 28, 2017 |url-status=dead }} Recently, the town came under the control of the Syrian National Army.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}
On 17 February 2022, a fighter of the Syrian Opposition was shot dead by a Syrian army sniper during a skirmish near the town.{{cite web|url=https://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2022/02/17/syria-ngo-reports-govt-insurgent-armed-clashes-in-north_1f80da2a-3442-474a-ac64-72ed5e1c4e72.html|title=Syria: NGO reports govt-insurgent armed clashes in north|work=ansamed.info|date=17 February 2022|access-date=18 February 2022|archive-date=17 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217222108/https://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2022/02/17/syria-ngo-reports-govt-insurgent-armed-clashes-in-north_1f80da2a-3442-474a-ac64-72ed5e1c4e72.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.syriahr.com/en/239952/|title="De-escalation zone" {{!}} Rebel shot dead on Aleppo frontlines, while opposition factions shell regime positions in Idlib countryside|work=Syrian Observatory for Human Rights|date=17 February 2022 }}
References
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Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book|first=Andrew|last=Beattie|title=The Rough Guide to Syria|volume=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9iCfkTe8v2EC&q=Daret+Ezzeh+Syria|publisher=Rough Guides|year=2001|isbn=1858287189}}
- {{cite book|first=Suraiya|last=Faroqhi|title=An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire|volume=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c4MbH7vThb4C&q=Darit+Izza|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1997|isbn=0521574552}}
{{refend}}
{{Aleppo Governorate|simeon}}