Aqarib

Aqarib
عقارب
Aqarib al-Safiyah
Village
Aqarib

Location in Syria

Coordinates: 35°06′15″N 37°12′38″E / 35.104133°N 37.210547°E / 35.104133; 37.210547Coordinates: 35°06′15″N 37°12′38″E / 35.104133°N 37.210547°E / 35.104133; 37.210547
Country  Syria
Governorate Hama
District Salamiyah
Subdistrict Sabburah
Population (2004)
  Total 3,830
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)

Aqarib (Arabic: عقارب, also known as Aqarib al-Safiyah (Arabic: عقارب الصافية) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located 45 kilometres (28 mi) east of Hama at the edge of the Syrian Desert. Nearby localities include Salamiyah and Tell al-Tut to the southwest, Uqayribat to the southeast and Sabburah to the north. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Aqarib had a population of 3,830 in the 2004 census.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantly Ismailis.[2]

Aqarib was founded in the late 19th century by Ismaili migrants from the area of Shaizar, a town west of Hama. The Ismailis had been evicted from their homes by a prominent landowning family based in Hama who owned the area around Shaizar. Part of the reason the migrants chose to settle in Aqarib was its proximity to Salamiyah, the center of Ismaili life in Syria.[2]

During the ongoing Syrian Civil War, on 18 May 2017, militants from ISIL attacked Aqarib and the neighboring Mabujah in which they killed at least 52 of the inhabitants. Those killed, 15 of them are children and the wounded are more than 100. The dead and injured people, mostly women and children, were taken to Salamiyah where most of the dead bodies were beheaded and their limbs were cut off. The defending Syrian Army and allies prevented the attackers who infiltrated from the south to advance deeper into the area.[3]

References

  1. General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Hama Governorate. (in Arabic)
  2. 1 2 Douwes, Dick (2010), "Modern History of the Nizari Ismailis of Syria", in Farhad Daftary, A Modern History of the Ismailis: Continuity and Change in a Muslim Community, I. B. Tauris, ISBN 9780857735263
  3. "SYRIA: ISIS Massacre 52 Civilians, Many Children, in Aqarib, Salamiyeh, Hama". 21st Century Wire. 2017-05-19. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
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