al-Lataminah
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Al-Lataminah
| native_name = {{nobold|{{lang|ar|اللطامنة}}}}
| other_name = {{lower|0.2em|Latamneh}}
| settlement_type = Town
| image_skyline =مدينة اللطامنة.JPG
| image_caption =Al-Lataminah in 2014
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| pushpin_map = Syria
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| pushpin_mapsize = 250
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Syria
| coordinates = {{coord|35|19|15|N|36|37|21|E|region:SY|display=inline}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg}} Syria
| subdivision_type1 = Governorate
| subdivision_name1 = Hama
| subdivision_type2 = District
| subdivision_name2 = Mahardah
| subdivision_type3 = Subdistrict
| subdivision_name3 = Kafr Zita
|parts_type = Control
|parts_style = para
| p1 = {{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_Syrian_Salvation_Government.svg}} Syrian Salvation Government
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| unit_pref = Metric
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| population_total = 16,267
| population_as_of = 2004
| population_density_km2 = auto
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| timezone = EET
| utc_offset = +2
| timezone_DST = EEST
| utc_offset_DST = +3
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Al-Lataminah ({{langx|ar|اللطامنة}}, also spelled Latamneh or Latamnah) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located {{convert|39|km}} northwest of Hama. Nearby localities include Karnaz to the northwest, Kafr Zita to the north, Murik to the northeast, Suran to the east, Taybat al-Imam to the southeast, Halfaya and Mahardah to the south, Shaizar and Kafr Hud to the southwest and Hayalin and al-Suqaylabiyah to the west. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Lataminah had a population of 16,267 in the 2004 census, making it the second largest locality in the nahiyah of Kafr Zita.[https://archive.today/20130112133023/http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB05-21-2004.htm General Census of Population and Housing 2004]. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Hama Governorate. {{in lang|ar}} Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.{{cite news|title=Alawites prepare as IS, Jabhat al-Nusra close in on regime areas|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/08/syria-jihadist-threat-homs.html|work=Al-Monitor|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=2014-08-26|access-date=2015-05-15}}
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.Abdel Hassan, Mahmoud. [http://www.esyria.sy/ehama/index.php?p=stories&category=places&filename=200904261825032 The Caverns of al-Lataminah]. E-Homs. E-Syria. 2009-04-16. {{in lang|ar}} During the course of the war, most of residents were displaced.{{cite web | last=Baiou | first=Sabrine | title=Under the Guise of Aid: The Far-Right French NGO Allegedly Supporting War Crimes in Syria | website=New Lines Institute | date=2021-11-29 | url=https://newlinesinstitute.org/syria/under-the-guise-of-aid-the-far-right-french-ngo-allegedly-supporting-war-crimes-in-syria/ | access-date=2022-09-14|quote=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}}
History
Al-Lataminah was inhabited during the Stone Age and excavations by teams from the Arab world, the United States, France and the Netherlands have been held at the site.Fansa, 2008, p. 131. One such excavation was held in 1965 and several artifacts were uncovered.{{cite journal|title=Orientalia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=snzAUD4YWboC&q=Latamnah|volume=37|journal=Gregorian Biblical BookShop|page=166}}
=Ottoman era=
When Swiss traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt visited the region in the early 19th-century, during Ottoman rule, al-Lataminah was described as the "principal village" of Sanjak Hama.Burckhardt, 1822, p. 141. During this period the village was part of the Sanjak (District) of Hama and in late 1829, it consisted of 84 faddan, larger than any other village in the district except for Taldou. It paid 8,250 qirsh in taxes, the highest rate of the revenue-producing (hasil) villages in the district.Douwes, 2000, pp. 224-225. In 1838, it had a predominantly Sunni Muslim population.Smith, in Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/178/mode/1up 178] Towards the end of Egyptian 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.Douwes, 2000, p. 202.
=Ongoing Syrian civil war=
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.[http://sana.sy/eng/337/2012/03/09/405083.htm Head of al-Latamneh City Council Abducted, 2 Children Injured in Explosion, Authorities Kill Terrorists, Gunmen Turn Themselves In] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414110406/http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2012/03/09/405083.htm |date=2012-04-14 }}. Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). 2012-03-09. On 7 April 2012 secret United 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.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17644404 Syria fighting 'kills 100' ahead of ceasefire]. BBC News. 2012-04-07. 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 the Syrian Army.[http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/04/20124793812723787.html Syria deaths increase despite UN deadline]. Al Jazeera English. 2012-04-07.
In September 2012 Al 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.[http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/09/201291214046579473.html Intense fighting rages in Syrian cities]. Al-Jazeera English. 2012-09-12. In a mid-December 2012 rebel offensive against government-held positions in the Hama Governorate, al-Lataminah was captured by opposition forces along with a string of several other villages.Khoury, Mariam. [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE8AJ1FK20121219 Rebels seize towns in central Syria]. Reuters. 2012-12-19.
Gas attacks were reported as occurring in Al-Lataminah in October 2016.{{Cite news|title=Dozens of cases of suffocation with Toxic gas in Hama |date=2 October 2016 |publisher=Baladi News Network |url=https://www.baladi-news.com/ar/news/details/10929/Dozens_of_cases_of_suffocation_with_Toxic_gas_in_Hama |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613193543/https://www.baladi-news.com/ar/news/details/10929/Dozens_of_cases_of_suffocation_with_Toxic_gas_in_Hama |archive-date=13 June 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy}} Additional attacks occurred on 24 and 25 March in 2017.{{Cite news|title=Summary of Open Source Evidence from the March 25th 2017 Chlorine Attack in Al-Lataminah, Hama |date=9 October 2017 |publisher=Bellingcat |location=Leicester, England |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017/10/09/summary-open-source-evidence-march-25th-2017-chlorine-attack-al-lataminah-hama/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009080402/https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017/10/09/summary-open-source-evidence-march-25th-2017-chlorine-attack-al-lataminah-hama/ |archive-date=9 October 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy}} They were substantially confirmed a year later by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) as having been a sarin gas attack, and a chlorine gas attack, respectively.{{Cite news|title=Chemical weapons watchdog: Sarin, chlorine "very likely" used in 2017 Syria {{sic|nolink=y|reason=error in source|atatcks}} |date=13 June 2018 |newspaper=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sarin-chlorine-very-likely-used-march-2017-syria-chemical-weapons-watchdog-2018-06-13/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613191116/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sarin-chlorine-very-likely-used-march-2017-syria-chemical-weapons-watchdog-2018-06-13/ |archive-date=13 June 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy}} Another sarin gas attack occurred on 30 March 2017.{{Cite news|title=Investigating the March 30, 2017 Sarin Attack in Al-Lataminah |date=26 October 2017 |publisher=Bellingcat |location=Leicester, England |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017/10/26/investigating-march-30-2017-sarin-attack-al-lataminah/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026130907/https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017/10/26/investigating-march-30-2017-sarin-attack-al-lataminah/ |archive-date=26 October 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy}} On April 8, 2020, the OPCW issued a report determining that the Syrian Air Force was the perpetrator of these chemical weapon attacks.[https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-04-08/watchdog-syrian-air-force-responsible-for-chemical-attacks Watchdog: Syrian Air Force Responsible for Chemical Attacks]
From 2017, the city was situated in the southernmost sector of rebel-held territory (sometimes called the Idlib pocket{{cn|date=September 2022}} although Al-Lataminah is part of Hama Governate). As a result, the city was exposed to attacks by the Syrian Arab Armed Forces from three directions, and suffered repeated bombardments and Russian airstrikes despite the cease-fire arrangements supposedly provided by the 2016 Astana accord.
On 20 August 2019, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the rebel and Islamist factions including jihadist groups like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) had withdrawn from Lataminah in north Hama province amid a military operation by Syrian government forces.{{Cite web|url=http://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=138138|title=Fearing to fall in a complete siege, the factions and jihadi groups withdraw from Khan Shaykhun city and towns and villages south of it in the northern countryside of Hama|date=20 August 2019|website=Syrian Observatory for Human Rights|language=ar}}
On 30 November 2024, HTS rebels recaptured the city from the Syrian Army during the Hama offensive.{{cite web |title=Syrian army withdraws from Hama as rebels push toward Homs |url=https://www.turkiyetoday.com/world/syrian-army-withdraws-from-hama-as-rebels-push-toward-homs-86795/ |publisher=Türkiye Today |access-date=30 November 2024}}{{cite news |title="The Authority" controls Aleppo International Airport and many cities and towns in the northern Hama countryside amid a complete collapse of the regime forces |url=https://www.syriahr.com/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%87%d9%80-%d9%80%d9%8a%d9%80-%d9%80%d8%a6%d8%a9-%d8%aa%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%b7%d8%b1-%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%89-%d9%85%d8%b7%d8%a7%d8%b1-%d8%ad%d9%84%d8%a8-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%af%d9%88%d9%84%d9%8a/738447/ |access-date=30 November 2024 |publisher=SOHR |date=30 November 2024 |language=Arabic}}
References
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Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book | first1 = John Lewis | last1 = Burckhardt| title = Travels in Syria and the Holy Land | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=cN1YB8fTAI4C&q=Burckhardt+syria | publisher = J. Murray| year = 1822}}
- {{cite book|first=Dick|last=Douwes|title=The Ottomans in Syria: a history of justice and oppression|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zYptAAAAMAAJ&q=Hasya|publisher=I.B. Tauris|year=2000|isbn=1860640311}}
- {{cite book|first=Mamoun|last=Fansa|title=Die Kunst der frühen Christen in Syrien: Zeichen, Bilder und Symbole vom 4. bis 7. Jahrhundert : Begleitband zur Sonderausstellung im Landesmuseum Natur und Mensch Oldenburg|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qg_qAAAAMAAJ&q=Latamneh|publisher=Zabern|year=2008|isbn=978-3805339193|language=de}}
- {{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838| location=Boston|publisher=Crocker & Brewster|volume=3}}
{{refend}}
{{Hama Governorate|mhardeh}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lataminah}}