Suluk, Syria

Suluk
سلوك[1]
Town and subdistrict

Suluk nahiya within Raqqa Governorate
Suluk
Location in Syria
Coordinates: 36°35′57″N 39°07′43″E / 36.599167°N 39.128611°E / 36.599167; 39.128611Coordinates: 36°35′57″N 39°07′43″E / 36.599167°N 39.128611°E / 36.599167; 39.128611
Country  Syria
Governorate Raqqa
District Tell Abyad
Subdistrict Suluk Subdistrict
de facto  Rojava
Population (2004)
 • Town 7,825[2]
 • Subdistrict 44,131[2]
Time zone UTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+3 (EEST)
P-Code C5843
Geocode SY110201
City Qrya Pcode C5843

Suluk[1] or Saluq (Arabic: سلوك‎) is a town and nahiyah within the Tell Abyad District of Raqqa Governorate in Syria. Suluk is close to the border with Turkey. The population of town is predominantly Arab.[3] Turkish authorities claim the population of the town is predominantly Turkmen,[1] while the nahiyah consists mostly of Turkmen and Arabs. The Kurds are a minority in the district in total but make up the majority in the sparsely populated south.[4] As a preliminary result of the ongoing Syrian Civil War, Suluk today is situated in Kobanî Canton within the autonomous Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava framework.

In June 2015, Suluk was taken over by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in the course of their Tell Abyad offensive.[5] Istanbul-based journalist Roy Gutman claimed the YPG has been accused of barring the return of its residents,[3] "razing" nearby villages,[6] and "ethnic cleansing" of Arabs.[7] They have denied these allegations, calling them "biased, unprofessional and politicized".[8]

On February 27, 2016, fighters of the terrorist group Islamic State attacked Suluk, the village Hammam at‑Turkuman and Tall Abyad.[9] At this point, the towns were not directly at the front to ISIL-held territory anymore and the jihadists were able to expel the Kurdish People's Protection Units in this surprise attack from Suluk and Hammam at-Turkuman. Kurdish security forces soon were able to encircle the attackers[10] and recaptured the villages on March 3, 2016. The liberation came too late for 15 civilians in Hammam at-Turkuman, which were executed by the jihadists in the charge of "Refusing to corporate with IS and helping the YPG earlier".[11]

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 70 fighters from the Islamic State and 20 Kurdish fighters were killed during the clashes.[12]

A spokesman of the YPG, Redur Xelil, accused Turkey of supporting the terrorists because some of them infiltrated from the Turkish border to the north. Turkey denied the accusations.[10]

In the early 13th century, during Ayyubid rule, the medieval geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi noted that Suluk was "a town of Syria".[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Günümüzde Suriye Türkmenleri (in Turkish) — Suriye’de Değişimin Ortaya Çıkardığı Toplum: Suriye Türkmenleri, p. 20 ORSAM Rapor № 83. ORSAM – Ortadoğu Türkmenleri Programı Rapor № 14. Ankara — November 2011, 33 pages.
  2. 1 2 "2004 Census Data for Suluk nahiyah" (in Arabic). Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 15 October 2015. Also available in English: "2004 Census Data". UN OCHA. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  3. 1 2 Gutmanrgutman, Roy (2015-11-01). "Kurds setting up to rule in Syrian town Islamic State held". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  4. ↑ "Syria Ethnic Composition (detailed)". The Gulf/2000 Project. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  5. ↑ Lefteris Pitarakis; Bassem Mrque (June 14, 2015). "Thousands of Syrians flee into Turkey amid intense fighting". AP The Big Story. Associated Press. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Syria: US ally's razing of villages amounts to war crimes". Amnesty International. 2015-10-13. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  7. ↑ "Arab tribes in Raqqa vow to fight Kurdish forces if they enter the ISIS de facto capital". ARA News. 2015-12-16. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  8. ↑ Saeed, Yerevan (19 October 2015). "YPG dismisses Amnesty report accusing Kurds of ethnic cleansing". Rudaw Media Network.
  9. ↑ "Tall Abyad: IS captures Suluk and Hammam at Turkuman". Kurdwatch.org. March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  10. 1 2 Maryam Karouny; Seyhmus Cakan (February 27, 2016). "Islamic State attacks Kurdish-held town on Turkish border". Reuters. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  11. ↑ "IS executes 19 at least, in the town of Hamam al-Turkman south of Tal Abiad". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. March 2, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  12. ↑ "By "Caliphate Cubs and the costume of Self-Defense", "Islamic State" carry out Tal Abyad military operations". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. February 29, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  13. ↑ Strange, le, Guy (1890). Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. p. 530.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.