Deir ez-Zor Governorate

Deir ez-Zor Governorate (Arabic: مُحافظة دير الزور‎ / ALA-LC: Muḥāfaẓat Dayr az-Zawr) is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in eastern Syria, bordering Iraq. It has an area of 33,060 km2 (12,760 sq mi) and a population of 1,239,000 (2011 estimate).[1] The capital is Deir ez-Zor.

Deir ez-Zor Governorate

مُحافظة دير الزور
Governorate
Map of Syria with Deir ez-Zor highlighted
Coordinates (Deir ez-Zor): 35.336°N 40.145°E / 35.336; 40.145
Country Syria
CapitalDeir ez-Zor
Manatiq (Districts)3
Government
 • GovernorMohammad Qaddur Ajnyyja
Area
 • Total33,060 km2 (12,760 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total1,239,000
 • Density37/km2 (97/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
ISO 3166 codeSY-DY
Main language(s)Arabic

Districts

The governorate is divided into 3 districts (manatiq):

These are further divided into 14 sub-districts (nawahi).

History

On 6 September 2007 Israel attacked and destroyed a facility in the governorate that Israel claimed was a nuclear site[2][3][4] in Operation Outside the Box. The complex was suspected of holding nuclear materials from North Korea.[5] In 2011, the IAEA confirmed it had been a nuclear weapons site.[6]

In the course of Syrian Civil War, as the Syrian Army has concentrated its forces on wresting back control of Aleppo, rebels have slowly gained ground in the eastern tribal heartland, aiming to control the country's 200,000 barrel-a-day oil output.[7] In August 2012, units of the FSA targeted the remaining isolated outposts of the Syrian Army forces in north-east Syria, where the FSA control all the main roads. There were said to be only 3 Army outposts left in Deir ez-Zor province countryside and they were under attack. On November 30, 2012, Syrian troops withdrew from Omar oil field, one of the last regime positions east of Deir ez-Zor city near the Iraqi border. This meant that the rebels control the country's major fields. This happened after Syrian troops lost the Conoco gas reserve on November 27. The insurgents took control of an oil field for the first time on November 4 when they overran Al-Ward, the most important in the province. After also losing control of Al-Jofra field also in November, the army controlled not more than five fields, all located to the west of Deir ez-Zor city.[8] Residents in Deir ez-Zor used crude oil for heating and agriculture for lack of fuel[9] On 1 January 2013, it was reported that two thirds of Deir ez-Zor Governorate was under rebel control.[10]

On April 11, 2014, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) withdrew from Abu Kamal to the T2 oil site, where a Syria-Iraq pipeline runs.[11] On 3 July, SOHR said that all towns and villages on the route from Abu Kamal to Al-Bab, passing through Raqa province, were now under ISIL control. Only the provincial capital, which shares the same name as the province, and the military airport were not under ISIL control. The city of Deir ez-Zor was split between President Bashar al-Assad's forces and an amalgam of rebel groups.[12] In 2014 ISIL forces massacred an estimated 900 members of the Al-Shaitat tribe in the governorate, following resistance to the group's control of the area.[13] In early 2016, the forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces entered the governorate following the Al-Shaddadi offensive. Up until October 2017, ISIL controlled all of the countryside while Syrian Government forces held out in the capital. On October 2017, Russia confirmed that Al-Mayadeen was recaptured by the Syrian army amid major offensive. [14]

Historic Sites

See also

References
  1. "City Population: Syria". Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  2. IAEA: Syria tried to build nuclear reactor Associated Press Latest Update: 04.28.11, 18:10
  3. Beaumont, Peter (16 September 2007). "Was Israeli raid a dry run for attack on Iran?". The Observer/The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 13 January 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  4. Stephens, Bret (18 September 2007). "Osirak II". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2007.
  5. Mahnaimi, Uzi; Baxter, Sarah (2007-09-23). "Israelis 'Israelis seized nuclear material in Syrian raid'". London: The Sunday Times. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  6. "IAEA: Syria tried to build nuclear reactor". Ynetnews. 2011-04-28. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  7. Khaled Yacoub Oweis, "Assad's Aleppo focus allows rebel gains in Syria's east", reuters, Aug 14, 2012
  8. "Syrian troops reportedly withdrew from Omar oil field, one of the last regime positions east of Deir Ezzor". Al Jazeera. November 30, 2012. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  9. "أهالي دير الزور يستخدمون النفط الخام كوقود للتدفئة". Al Arabia. 9 December 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  10. "سوريا - أهم المناطق التي سيطر عليها الجيش الحر عام 2012", Al Jazeera, 1 January 2013.
  11. Le Point, magazine. "Syrie : des rebelles islamistes repoussent un assaut djihadiste dans l'Est". Le Point.fr. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  12. "IS Takes Over Towns, Countryside in Oil-Rich Syria Province: NGO". NDTV.com. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  13. "Mass Grave of 230 Tribespeople Four in Syria's Deir Ezzor: Monitoring Group". Alakhbar English. Al Akhbar. 18 December 2014. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  14. "Syrian troops capture ISIS stronghold Al-Mayadeen amid major offensive". RT International. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  • edeiralzor The First Complete website for Deir ez-Zor news and services


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