Atme ( ar, اطمه, ‘Aṭma, also spelled Atma, Atima, Atmeh) is a town in northern

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 loc ...

, administratively part of the

Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة ادلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama ...

, located north of

Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m = 500 , area_code = 23 , geocode = C3871 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info ...

and just east of the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

with

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. It lies southeast of Deir Ballut, south of

Jindires Jindires ( ar, جنديرس, also spelled, Jandairis, Jandires, Jendires, Jendeires, or Jandarus; Kurdish: Cindirês or Cindirêsê) is a town in northern Syria in the Afrin District of the Aleppo Governorate. It is located on the Afrin River, no ...

, northwest of

Qah Qah ( ar, قاح, also spelled Kah) is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located north of Idlib and just east of the border with Turkey. Nearby localities include Atme to the west, Jindires to the nort ...

and north of

Sarmada Sarmada ( ar, سرمدا) is a town in the Harem District, Idlib Governorate of Syria.S ...

and al-Dana. In the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics' 2004 census, it had a population of 2,255.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Idlib Governorate.

History

The Olive Tree Camp is a refugee camp that emerged during the Syrian Civil War. According to

Bianet Bianet (acronym for tr, Bağımsız İletişim Ağı, lit="Independent Communication Network") is a Turkish press agency based in Beyoğlu, Istanbul. Its focus is on human rights and it is mainly funded by a Swedish organization. It was establish ...

. about 80'000 people shall life in tents in the camp. Since October 201, internally displaced Syrians who failed to cross over to Turkey started settling between the olive trees. A new wave of refugees was triggered by the Syrian offensive in 2019. A 150-year-old oak tree in Atme was cut down by members of the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

in November 2013. They accused the locals of venerating the tree instead of

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

. The town is under the control of

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) (, transliteration: ', "Organization for the Liberation of the Levant" or "Levant Liberation Committee"), commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham, is a Sunni Islamist political and armed organisation involved in the ...

ISIL leader Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi killed himself during a raid by

US special forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal mis ...

on a house in Atme on February 3, 2022. According to the

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , image = Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = The logo of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , type = NGO , founded_date = , founder ...

, thirteen other people, including seven civilians, died during the raid, which was noted by the media for its intensity. Many of the local residents were "shocked" about the presence of Quraishi in the town, including Quraishi's landlord, who was unaware that his tenant was the leader of ISIL.

References

Populated places in Harem District {{IdlibSY-geo-stub