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Suluk, Syria

Coordinates: 36°35′57″N 39°07′43″E / 36.5992°N 39.1286°E / 36.5992; 39.1286
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Suluk
سلوك
Town
Suluk nahiya within Raqqa Governorate
Suluk nahiya within Raqqa Governorate
Suluk is located in Syria
Suluk
Suluk
Location in Syria
Coordinates: 36°35′57″N 39°07′43″E / 36.5992°N 39.1286°E / 36.5992; 39.1286
Country Syria
GovernorateRaqqa
DistrictTell Abyad
SubdistrictSuluk
Control Turkey
Syrian opposition Syrian Interim Government
Population
 (2004)
 • Town7,825[1]
 • Subdistrict
44,131[1]
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
P-Code
C5843
GeocodeSY110201
City Qrya PcodeC5843

Suluk (Arabic: سلوك, romanizedSulūk) is a town within the Tell Abyad District of Raqqa Governorate in Syria. Suluk is close to the border with Turkey. The population of the town is predominantly Arab.[2][3]

History

[edit]

In the early 13th century, during Ayyubid rule, the medieval geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi noted that Suluk was "a town of Syria".[4]

Syrian civil war

[edit]

In June 2015, Suluk was taken over by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in the course of their Tell Abyad offensive.[5] Kurdish YPG forces were accused of expelling the entire population of the town (35,000 people), although they allowed only 10,000 of them to return,[2] Furthermore, Amnesty International accused YPG of "razing" nearby villages,[6] and "ethnic cleansing" of Arabs.[3] They have denied the Amnesty report, calling it "biased, unprofessional and politicized" as it made no mention of the human rights violations by the Islamic State.[7]

On 27 February 2016, fighters of the Islamic State attacked Suluk, the village Hammam at‑Turkuman and Tall Abyad.[8] 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 and recaptured the villages on March 3, 2016.[9] One day before the recapture, IS jihadists executed 15 civilians with the charge of "Refusing to corporate with IS and helping the YPG earlier".[10]

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 70 fighters from the Islamic State and 20 Kurdish fighters were killed during the clashes.[11]

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.[9]

During the Turkish offensive in north-east Syria in October 2019,[12] Suluk was captured by Turkey and the Syrian National Army.[13]

Climate

[edit]
Climate data for Suluk
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 10.7
(51.3)
13.1
(55.6)
17.7
(63.9)
23.4
(74.1)
29.9
(85.8)
35.7
(96.3)
39.2
(102.6)
38.8
(101.8)
34.6
(94.3)
27.7
(81.9)
19.5
(67.1)
12.5
(54.5)
25.2
(77.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 1.2
(34.2)
2.2
(36.0)
5.1
(41.2)
9.1
(48.4)
13.8
(56.8)
18.3
(64.9)
21.1
(70.0)
20.6
(69.1)
16.1
(61.0)
11.1
(52.0)
5.7
(42.3)
2.6
(36.7)
10.6
(51.1)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 60
(2.4)
46
(1.8)
44
(1.7)
35
(1.4)
25
(1.0)
3
(0.1)
0
(0)
0
(0)
1
(0.0)
17
(0.7)
31
(1.2)
52
(2.0)
314
(12.3)
Source: Climate-Data[14]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "2004 Census Data for Suluk nahiyah" (in Arabic). Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015. Also available in English: "2004 Census Data". UN OCHA. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  2. ^ a b Gutmanrgutman, Roy (2015-11-01). "Kurds setting up to rule in Syrian town Islamic State held". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  3. ^ a b "Arab tribes in Raqqa vow to fight Kurdish forces if they enter the ISIS de facto capital". ARA News. 2015-12-16. Archived from the original on December 17, 2015. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  4. ^ 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.
  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. ^ Saeed, Yerevan (19 October 2015). "YPG dismisses Amnesty report accusing Kurds of ethnic cleansing". Rudaw Media Network.
  8. ^ "Tall Abyad: IS captures Suluk and Hammam at Turkuman". Kurdwatch.org. March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  9. ^ a b Maryam Karouny; Seyhmus Cakan (February 27, 2016). "Islamic State attacks Kurdish-held town on Turkish border". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 28, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "U.S., Turkey agree to cease-fire to allow Kurdish forces to retreat". NBC News. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
  13. ^ "Eight dead in blast in Turkish-held Syrian town". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
  14. ^ "Climate statistics for Suluk". Climate Data. Retrieved 26 March 2020.