Ratyan (Arabic: رتيان) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the A'zaz District of Aleppo Governorate, located northwest of Aleppo. Nearby localities include Mayer to the northwest, Al-Zahraa and Bayanoun to the west and Tell Jabin to the east. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Ratyan had a population of 2,216 in the 2004 census.[1]

Ratyan
رتيان
Village
Ratyan is located in Syria
Ratyan
Ratyan
Coordinates: 36°20′47.8″N 37°5′31.7″E / 36.346611°N 37.092139°E / 36.346611; 37.092139
Country Syria
GovernorateAleppo Governorate
DistrictA'zaz District
NahiyahNubl
Population
 (2004 census)[1]
 • Total2,216
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

During the Syrian Civil War edit

Ratyan was an opposition-held town from early in the Syrian Civil War.

ARA News reported that pro-government forces, backed by the Lebanese militias of Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, had taken control of Ratyan by 17 February 2015, but that rebels of the Levant Front regained control of the village that evening, with one Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement commander, Hassan Maykah, killed in the fighting.[2] The Times, however, reported that rebels regained the village on 19 February, after several days of heavy fighting, capturing 32 government soldiers.[3]

There was heavy fighting in Ratyan in early 2016 as part of the Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016). Pro-government Al-Masdar News reported that the government recaptured the village on 5 February 2016,[4] although the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that half the town had been retaken by rebels that day,[5] and The Independent and The Guardian reported fighting continuing on 7 February.[6][7]

References edit

  1. ^ a b General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Aleppo Governorate. Archived at [1]. (in Arabic)
  2. ^ [2] Syrian army accused of massacre of 30 civilians near Aleppo. ARA-NEWS, 18 February 2015
  3. ^ Coghlan, Tom (2015-02-20). "Isis hit by desertions and disgust at brutality". The Times. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  4. ^ Leith Fadel (5 February 2016). "Syrian Army, Hezbollah capture the strategic village of Rityan in northern Aleppo". Al-Masdar News.
  5. ^ "Up to 20,000 people at Syrian border - UN". RTE.ie. 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  6. ^ Pitel, Laura (2016-02-07). "Turkey 'can take no more' as refugees build up on border". The Independent. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  7. ^ Black, Ian (2016-02-07). "Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees remain stranded at Turkish border". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-08-19.