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Ghouta
Ghouta ( ar, غُوطَةُ دِمَشْقَ / ALA-LC: ''Ḡūṭat Dimašq'') is a countryside and suburban area in southwestern Syria that surrounds the city of Damascus along its eastern and southern rim. Name Ghouta is the Arabic term (''ghuta'') for 'garden'. Geography The Ghouta is an oasis formed by the Barada River, as its waters flow east of Mount Qasioun, and its seven tributaries. It surrounds the city of Damascus. To the east and south of the Ghouta lies the Marj plain, which forms a narrow belt of fields, and south of that lies the Hauran plain. The Barada River Valley borders the Ghouta to the northeast. The area north of the Ghouta is less fertile and eventually desolate hill country. To the west of the region is the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. The Ghouta is historically the most celebrated 'green zone' (a verdant, fertile area around an urban center) in the Levant, according to the historian Beshara Doumani. He also notes that its fame in this regard persists, de ...
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Faylaq Al-Rahman
The al-Rahman Legion ( ar, فيلق الرحمن, ''Faylaq al-Raḥmān'') is a Syrian rebel group that operated in Eastern Ghouta, in the outskirts of Damascus, and in the eastern Qalamoun Mountains. It was the main rebel group in Jobar, and was backed by Qatar. The group's leader is Abdul al-Nasr Shamir, a captain from rural Homs who defected from the Syrian Army in early 2012. The Legion has been described as an " Islamist" or as a non-jihadi/non-Salafi "political Islamist"Jennifer Cafarella and Genevieve Casagrande, Syrian Armed Opposition Powerbrokers', Middle East Security Report 29, March 2016, Institute for the Study of War organisation. It describes itself as "a revolutionary military entity aiming for the downfall of the Syrian regime," but does not seek to turn Syria into an Islamic state. In 2016, it was described as "one of the oldest standing opposition factions in Damascus and maintains high levels of local legitimacy and support." Under a surrender agreement, over 5 ...
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Jaysh Al-Islam
) , successor = , allies = * * * * * Free Syrian Army * Ahrar al-Sham *al-Rahman Legion (sometimes) *1st Brigade of Damascus (sometimes) *Al-Nusra Front (formerly) * Saraya Ahl al-Sham * Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis , opponents = * Syrian Armed Forces * Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant *al-Rahman Legion (sometimes) *1st Brigade of Damascus (sometimes) *Tahrir al-Sham * Jaysh al-Ummah , battles = , url = , status = , founding_leader = Zahran Alloush , military_leader = Essam al-Buwaydhani (2015–2019) Abu Jamal (military chief) , political_leader = Mohammed Alloush , spokesman = Islam Alloush (former) , groups = , designated_as_terror_group_by = Jaysh al-Islam ( ar, جيش الإسلام, Jayš al-ʾIslām, meaning ''Army of Islam''), formerly known as Liwa al-Islam ( ar, لواء الإسلام, links=no, Brigade of Islam), is a coalition of Islamist rebel units involved in the Syrian ...
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Rif Dimashq Offensive (November 2012–February 2013)
The Rif Dimashq offensive (November 2012–February 2013) refers to a rebel offensive during the Syrian Civil War in the Rif Dimashq Governorate (which surrounds Damascus) which started in November 2012, and a subsequent attempted Syrian Army counterattack in January 2013. Thomson Reuters described rebels as "ramping up attacks on Damascus" in late November and ''BBC News'' described the 29 November government counterattack as "an unprecedented offensive against rebel-held districts in the east of the city". Background In September 2012 during the Syrian civil war, rebels carried out bomb attacks against military institutions in Damascus, killing 40 to 60 people, including high-ranking government officials, while activists said that the Syrian Army, as well as other pro-Assad gunmen, killed 40 civilians near Damascus and 16 in Damascus itself. In October, rebels attacked governmental sites in Damascus, captured an air force base and shot down a military helicopter in the ea ...
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Damascus SPOT 1363
)), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Syria#Mediterranean east#Arab world#Asia , pushpin_label_position = right , pushpin_mapsize = , pushpin_map_caption = Location of Damascus within Syria , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Governorate , subdivision_name1 = Damascus Governorate, Capital City , government_footnotes = , government_type = , leader_title = Governor , leader_name = Mohammad Tariq Kreishati , parts_type = Municipalities , parts = 16 , established_title = , established_date ...
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Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Syria#Mediterranean east#Arab world#Asia , pushpin_label_position = right , pushpin_mapsize = , pushpin_map_caption = Location of Damascus within Syria , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Governorate , subdivision_name1 = Damascus Governorate, Capital City , government_footnotes = , government_type = , leader_title = Governor , leader_name = Mohammad Tariq Kreishati , parts_type = Municipalities , parts = 16 , established_title = , established_date ...
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Douma, Syria
Douma ( ar, دُومَا, Dūmā) is a city in Syria. Its centre is about northeast of the centre of Damascus. Being the centre of Rif Dimashq governorate (which completely surrounds the Damascus Governorate), the city is also the administrative centre of Douma District. Douma is a major city of the region known as Ghouta, for the peri-urban settlements to the east and south of Damascus. History 21st century During the Syrian Civil War, Douma was a major flashpoint and witnessed numerous demonstrations against the Syrian government and armed clashes against the Syrian Army and security forces during the early stages of the conflict. On 30 January 2012, the Syrian Army gained control of the city after the Battle of Douma, a major operation against the opposition armed groups in Rif Dimashq Governorate. On 29 June 2012, the Syrian Army was accused of committing a massacre in Douma, where more than 50 people were killed. As of 18 October 2012, the Free Syrian Army was in ...
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Bashar Al-Assad
Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the Secretary-General of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, which espouses the ideologies of neo-Ba'athism and Assadism. His father and predecessor was General Hafez al-Assad, whose presidency between 1971 to 2000 marked the transfiguration of Syria from a republican state into a dynastic military dictatorship tightly controlled by Alawite-dominated armed forces and ''Mukhabarat'' (secret services) loyal to the Assad family. Born and raised in Damascus, Bashar al-Assad graduated from the medical school of Damascus University in 1988 and began to work as a doctor in the Syrian Army. Four years later, he attended postgraduate studies at the Western Eye Hospital in London, specialising in ophthalmology. In 1994, af ...
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Syrian Rebels
A number of states and armed groups have involved themselves in the ongoing Syrian Civil War as belligerents. Syrian Arab Republic and allies A number of sources have emphasized that as of at least late-2015/early-2016 the Syrian Arab Republic was dependent on a mix of volunteers and militias, rather than the Syrian Armed Forces. Syrian Armed Forces Before the uprising and war broke out, the Syrian Armed Forces were estimated at 325,000 regular troops and 280,000–300,000 reservists. Of the regular troops, 220,000 were 'army troops' and the rest in the navy, air force and air defense force. Following defections as early as June 2011, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated that by July 2012, tens of thousands of soldiers had defected. National Defense Force The Syrian NDF was formed out of pro-government militias. They receive their salaries and military equipment from the government, and in 2013 numbered around 100,000 troops. The force acts in an infantry role ...
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Barada River
, name_etymology = From ''barid'', meaning 'cold' in Semitic languages , image = Barada river in Damascus (April 2009).jpg , image_size = 300 , image_caption = Barada river in Damascus near the Four Seasons Hotel. The water level is uncharacteristically high in this view from the spring of 2009. , map = , map_size = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_size = , pushpin_map_caption= , subdivision_type1 = Country , subdivision_name1 = Syria , subdivision_type2 = , subdivision_name2 = , subdivision_type3 = , subdivision_name3 = , subdivision_type4 = , subdivision_name4 = , subdivision_type5 = City , subdivision_name5 = Damascus , length = , width_min = , width_avg = , width_max = , depth_min = , depth_avg = , depth_max = , discharge1_location= , discharge1_min = , discharge ...
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Damascus Offensive (2013)
The Damascus offensive (2013) refers to a series of rebel operations that began in early February 2013 in and around the city of Damascus. History On 6 February, rebel forces launched an offensive, named "Battle of Armageddon", on the edge of Central Damascus, with rebels entering the Jobar District of Damascus after overrunning a Syrian Army roadblock. Parts of the Damascus ring road which acts as a barrier between Central Damascus and Ghouta were also seized by rebel fighters. Rebels have also launched attacks on Adra, north east of Damascus. On 10 February, a rebel claimed that opposition forces had captured another military checkpoint in the Jobar district. However, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that while fighting for the highway continued, government troops regained control of the area after bombing rebel positions the day before. On 19 February, rebels began moving truckloads of anti aircraft weapons into Jobar in an effort to consolidate advances made in ...
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Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It is a unitary state, unitary republic that consists of Governorates of Syria, 14 governorates (subdivisions), and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, the east and southeast, Jordan to Jordan–Syria border, the south, and Israel and Lebanon to Lebanon–Syria border, the southwest. Cyprus lies to the west across the Mediterranean Sea. A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to demographics of Syria, diverse ethnic and religious groups, including the majority Syrians, Syrian Arabs, Kurds in Syria, Kurds, Syrian Turkmen, Turkmens, Assyrians in Syria, Assyrians, Armenians in Syria, Armenians, Circa ...
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Hauran
The Hauran ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa field, to the south by Jordan's desert steppe and to the west by the Golan Heights. Traditionally, the Hauran consists of three subregions: the Nuqrah and Jaydur plains, the Jabal al-Druze massif, and the Lajat volcanic field. The population of the Hauran is largely Arab, but religiously heterogeneous; most inhabitants of the plains are Sunni Muslims belonging to large agrarian clans, while Druze form the majority in the eponymous Jabal al-Druze and a significant Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic minority inhabit the western foothills of Jabal al-Druze. The region's largest towns are Daraa, al-Ramtha and al-Suwayda. From the mid-1st century BCE, the region was governed by the Roman Empire's Herodian and Nabatean client kings until it was formally a ...
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