Kafr Nabl
كَفْرنَبِل
Kafranbel
Town
Kafr Nabl is located in Syria
Kafr Nabl
Kafr Nabl
Location in Syria
Coordinates: 35°36′50″N 36°33′40″E / 35.61389°N 36.56111°E / 35.61389; 36.56111
Country Syria
GovernorateIdlib
DistrictMaarrat al-Nu'man
SubdistrictKafr Nabl
Elevation
735 m (2,411 ft)
Population
 (2004)
 • Total15,455

Kafr Nabl (Arabic: كَفْرنَبِل, romanized: Kafr Nabil, also spelled Kafranbel or Kafr Nabil) is a town administratively belonging to the Idlib Governorate and Ma'arrat al-Numan District in northwestern Syria. It is situated 735 meters (2,411 ft) above sea level. In the 2004 census by the Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics Kafr Nabl had a population of 15,455.[1] In the early 1960s it had a population of about 1,200. Kafr Nabl's inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.[2]

History

Kafr Nabl is located on an ancient Byzantine dead city, and is surrounded by some of the most important Dead Cities, such as Serjilla, Shanshrah, and al-Bara.[3]

Prior to the Syrian civil war, Kafr Nabl was Syria's largest producer of figs and a major producer of olives. About 3,700 hectares, or 778,000 trees were used for fig cultivation. Roughly 60% of the population were employed in the production and natural processing of the fruit. Farmers in Kafr Nabl usually dedicated around 80% of their cultivation time to the production of figs and 20% for olives.[4]

Since the civil war, the town has gained fame for producing satirical videos about the war.[5] It belonged to an area controlled by the Army of Conquest.

Planes of the Russian Air Force, based in Latakia, had begun to attack the city in the autumn of 2015.[6][7]

On November 23, 2018, activist Raed Fares and journalist Hamoud Junaid were killed in Kafr Nabl, by an unknown gunman.[8]

Most of the town's remaining inhabitants fled in early 2019, due to the violence that erupted during the 2019 Northwestern Syria offensive.[9] Shortly thereafter, the rebel groups in control of the town received a "stark warning" from Russia, which accused them of using it to stage alleged false-flag chemical attacks against the Syrian government, as well as a launching ground for missiles targeting government-controlled areas in violation of the Idlib demilitarization agreement.[10] On 21 July 2019, the local council of the rebel-held town declared that "everything [in the town] had been destroyed and burnt" as a result of clashes and government airstrikes targeting rebel positions within it.[11]

On February 25, 2020, the Syrian Army reimposed control on Kafr Nabl for the first time since 2012 during the 2019–20 Northwestern Syria offensive and repulsed rebel attempts to re-take it during their counterattack.[12][13]

References

  1. ↑ General Census of Population and Housing 2004 Archived 2013-02-06 at the Wayback Machine. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Idleb Governorate. (in Arabic)
  2. ↑ Boulanger, 1966, p. 413.
  3. ↑ Carter, 2008, p. 199.
  4. ↑ Giuliani, 2007, p. 24.
  5. ↑ "Syria's war: An unlikely band of brothers". The Economist. 20 September 2013.
  6. ↑ "Wir sind alle Beirut". Zeit Online (in German). 14 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Russia steps up air strikes against Assad opponents in Syria". Reuters. 10 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Eyad Kourdi; Hilary Clarke; Mohammed Tawfeeq. "Syrian radio host who satirized Assad and ISIS shot dead". CNN. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  9. ↑ Diyaruna. "Bombarded by regime forces, Idlib province a 'prison for free men'". Diyaruna. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  10. ↑ "With Idlib in Assad's sights, Russia warns of 'false flag' chemical attacks". The National. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  11. ↑ اليوم, HalabToday حلب (2019-07-21). "المجلس المحلي في مدينة كفرنبل بريف إدلب الجنوبي يؤكد أن المدينة تتعرض لغارات جوية متواصلة من قبل طيران النظام ويضيف أن "كل شيء يتدمر ويحترق في المدينة"". @HalabTodayTV (in Arabic). Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  12. ↑ "Syrian regime retakes symbolic town of Kafranbel: monitor". rfi.fr. 25 February 2020.
  13. ↑ "قوات النظام السوري تستعيد السيطرة على كفرنبل". euronews.com (in Arabic). 25 February 2020.

Bibliography

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