Mare' ( ar, مارع ''Māriʿ'', locally pronounced ''Mēreʿ''), also spelled Marea, is a town in northern

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( ar, محافظة حلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' / ) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of t ...

, northwestern Syria. It is the largest town and administrative centre of the

Mare' nahiyah Mare' ( ar, مارع ''Māriʿ'', locally pronounced ''Mēreʿ''), also spelled Marea, is a town in northern Aleppo Governorate, northwestern Syria. It is the largest town and administrative centre of the Mare' nahiyah in the Azaz District. Loca ...

in the

Azaz District Azaz District ( ar, منطقة أعزاز, manṭiqat A'zāz) is a district of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of Azaz. At the 2004 census, the district had a population of 251,769. The district lie ...

. Located some 25 kilometers north of the city of Aleppo, the town has a population of 16,904 as per the 2004 census. Nearby localities include

Shaykh Issa Shaykh Issa ( ar, الشيخ عيسى) is a town in northern Aleppo Governorate, northwestern Syria. Located north of Aleppo, it is administratively part of Nahiya Tell Rifaat in A'zaz District. Nearby localities include Tell Rifaat to the west, ...

and

Tell Rifaat Tell Rifaat ( ar, تل رفعت, Tall Rifʿat, also spelled Tel Rifaat, Tel Rif'at or Tal Rifaat) ( Kurdish: Arfêd/ ئارفێد) is a city in northern Aleppo Governorate, northwestern Syria. Located roughly north of Aleppo, the town is the admi ...

to the west,

A'zaz Azaz ( ar, أَعْزَاز, ʾAʿzāz) is a city in northwest Syria, roughly north-northwest of Aleppo. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Azaz had a population of 31,623 in the 2004 census.

to the northwest, Dabiq to the northeast,

al-Bab Al-Bab ( ar, الْبَاب / ALA-LC: ''al-Bāb'') is a city, ''de jure'' administratively belonging to the Aleppo Governorate of the Syrian Arab Republic. As of December 2016, the city is under the control of pro-Turkish militias, as part of ...

to the southeast, and

Maarat Umm Hawsh Ma'arat Umm Hawsh ( ar, معراتة أم حوش, also spelled Maarateh Om Hosh) is a village in northern Aleppo Governorate, northwestern Syria. It is administered as part of the Nahiya Mare' in the A'zaz District. Nearby localities include Mare ...

and

Herbel Herbel ( ar, حربل, also spelled Herbil and Harbul) is a village in northern Aleppo Governorate, northwestern Syria. With a population of 3,403 as per the 2004 census. Administratively, it is part of the Nahiya Mare' in A'zaz District. Nearb ...

to the south. Mare' nahiyah

Syrian Civil War

Mare' was affected by the ongoing Syrian uprising against the government of Bashar al-Assad. The Ibn Walid brigade of the opposition Free Syrian Army was formed in the town in August 2012. The

Mare' Operations Room The Mare' Operations Room ( ar, غرفة عمليات مارع, tr, Mare Operasyon Odası) was a joint operations room of armed Syrian rebel factions based around the town of Mare' in the Azaz District of Aleppo Governorate to fight against th ...

was, as well, based around the town. In January 2015, Mare' was controlled by the Islamic Front. However, the capture of the town of Dabiq in early 2015 by the

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

(ISIL) threatened the town of Mare'. One of the largest towns close to the front-line of ISIL territory, Mare' produced a salient that ISIL attempted to reduce in a number of minor offensives which continued until May 2016. In February 2016,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n airstrikes preceded an assault by Kurdish YPG militias, forcing the overwhelming majority of the population to escape. In August 2016, Mare' was reportedly controlled by the FSA. The 2016 Dabiq offensive in September 2016 pushed the ISIL front-line back, removing the imminent threat posed to the town.

References

Populated places in Azaz District {{AleppoSY-geo-stub