Maarrat Misrin
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ma'arrat Misrin ( ar, مَعَرَّةُ مِصْرِينَ, Maʿarrat Miṣrīn, also spelled Ma'arrat Masrin or Ma'aret Masreen) is a small city in northwestern
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
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 ...
. Ma'arrat Misrin lies an elevation of . It is located 50 kilometers southwest of
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
and 40 kilometers north of
Ma'arrat al-Numan Maarat al-Numan ( ar, مَعَرَّةُ النُّعْمَانِ, Maʿarrat an-Nuʿmān), also known as al-Ma'arra, is a city in northwestern Syria, south of Idlib and north of Hama, with a population of about 58,008 before the Civil War (2004 ...
and 12 kilometers from
Sarmin Sarmin ( ar, سَرْمِين, Sarmīn also spelled Sarmeen) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located 15 kilometers southeast of Idlib. It has an altitude of about 390 meters. Nearby localities i ...
. Nearby localities include
Kafr Yahmul Kafr Yahmul ( ar, كَفْر يَحْمُول, Kafr Yaḥmūl; also spelled, Kafrehmul) is a Syrian village located in Maarrat Misrin Nahiyah in Idlib District, Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m ...
to the north,
Zardana Zardana ( ar, زردنا, also spelled Zerdana or Zirdana) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of Idlib Governorate. The village lies in a relatively flat plain. Nearby localities include Taftanaz to the southeast, al-Fu'ah a ...
and
Maarrat al-Ikhwan Ma'arrat al-Ikhwan ( ar, معارة الاخوان, also spelled Ma'arrat al-Akwan, Maaret Ikhwan or Martahwan) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of Idlib Governorate located north of Idlib. Nearby localities include Maarrat ...
to the northeast,
Taftanaz Taftanaz ( ar, تَفْتَنَاز, Taftanāz, also spelled Teftanaz) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located 17 kilometers northeast of Idlib. Nearby localities include Ta'um and Binnish to the sou ...
to the east,
Ta'um Ta'um ( ar, طَعُوم, Ṭaʿūm, also spelled Tu'um or Taoum) is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located northeast of Idlib. Nearby localities include Binnish to the southwest, al-Fu'ah to the we ...
, Binnish,
al-Fu'ah Al-Fu'ah ( ar, الْفُوعَة, al-Fūʿah, also spelled al-Fouaa and al-Fo'ua) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located northeast of Idlib. Nearby localities include Kafriya to the west, Maarrat Mis ...
and
Kafriya Kafriya ( ar, كفريا, also spelled Kifarya or Kefraya) is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located northwest of Idlib. Nearby localities include Maarrat Misrin to the north, Zardana to the northeast, ...
to the southeast,
Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m = 500 , area_code = 23 , geocode = C3871 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info ...
to the south, and Hafasraja to the southwest. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) Ma'arrat Misrin had a population of 17,519 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of a ''
nahiya A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...
'' which consists of 16 localities with a total population of 57,859 in 2004.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Idlib Governorate. Archived a

The ''
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
'' estimated the population of Ma'arrat Misrin was around 40,000 in 2012. The city's inhabitants are predominantly
Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...
s, although roughly 15% follow
Shia Islam Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...
.


Etymology

According to medieval
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
geographers
al-Muqaddasi Shams al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr al-Maqdisī ( ar, شَمْس ٱلدِّيْن أَبُو عَبْد ٱلله مُحَمَّد ابْن أَحْمَد ابْن أَبِي بَكْر ٱلْمَقْدِسِي), ...
and
Abu'l-Fida Ismāʿīl b. ʿAlī b. Maḥmūd b. Muḥammad b. ʿUmar b. Shāhanshāh b. Ayyūb b. Shādī b. Marwān ( ar, إسماعيل بن علي بن محمود بن محمد بن عمر بن شاهنشاه بن أيوب بن شادي بن مروان ...
, the town was originally called in Arabic “Maʾarrat Qinnasrīn” in reference to
Jund Qinnasrin ''Jund Qinnasrīn'' ( ar, جُـنْـد قِـنَّـسْـرِيْـن, "military district of Qinnasrin") was one of five sub-provinces of Syria under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, organized soon after the Muslim conquest of Syria in t ...
, the province to which it belonged.Al-Mukaddasi, ed. Le Strange 1886, p. 9. The name was often shortened to “Maʾarrat Nasrīn” and corrupted in later works as “Maʾarrat Masrīn”.
Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
manuscripts dating back to the 8th century refer to the town as “Ma'arrat Mesren”. The town was known to the
Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
as “Megaret Basrin” or “Meguaret Mesrin”.


History


Early Islamic era

Ma'arat Misrin was captured by the Muslim army of
Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Jarrāḥ ( ar, عامر بن عبدالله بن الجراح; 583–639 CE), better known as Abū ʿUbayda ( ar, أبو عبيدة ) was a Muslim commander and one of the Companions of the Islamic prophet M ...
in 637 CE after defeating a
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
force in the
Battle of Hazir The Battle of Hazir or ''Ma'arakah al-Haadhir'' ( ar, معركة الحاضر) took place between the Byzantine army and the Rashidun army's elite cavalry, the Mobile guard. It took place in June 637, three miles east of Qinnasrin at Al- ...
between the town and
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
. Like Aleppo, it surrendered under peaceful terms. Ma'arat Misrin is referred to as "Ma'arat Mesren" in 8th-century
Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
manuscripts. Amr ibn Hawbar served as its governor during the reign of
Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
caliph
al-Mutawakkil Abū al-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Muʿtaṣim bi-ʾllāh ( ar, جعفر بن محمد المعتصم بالله; March 822 – 11 December 861), better known by his regnal name Al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (, "He who relies on God") was t ...
.Houtsma, 1987, p. 58. Byzantine general
Nikephoros II Phokas Nikephoros II Phokas (; – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless included brilliant military exploits whi ...
conquered Ma'arat Misrin in 968 and expelled its 1,200 inhabitants to
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. The following year he made a truce with the
Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dy ...
s whereby the latter would gain control over the town. The Bani Kilab under the leadership of
Salih ibn Mirdas Abu Ali Salih ibn Mirdas ( ar, ابو علي صالح بن مرداس, Abū ʿAlī Ṣāliḥ ibn Mirdās), also known by his ''laqab'' (honorific epithet) Asad al-Dawla ('Lion of the State'), was the founder of the Mirdasid dynasty and emir of ...
launched an expedition to conquer Aleppo in 1024. During the offensive Mirdas's commander Abu Mansur Sulayman ibn Tawk captured Ma'arrat Misrin and imprisoned its governor. Later, before 1063, the Byzantines recaptured the town after Salih’s son Atiyya defected from his nephew
Mahmud ibn Nasr Abu Salama Mahmud ibn Nasr ibn Salih ar, محمود بن نصر بن صالح المرداسي, Abū Salama Maḥmūd ibn Naṣr ibn Ṣāliḥ, also known by his ''laqab'' (honorific epithet) Rashid al-Dawla, was the Mirdasid emir of Aleppo from ...
's army, which was attacking
Baalbek Baalbek (; ar, بَعْلَبَكّ, Baʿlabakk, Syriac-Aramaic: ܒܥܠܒܟ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In Greek and Roman ...
. Atiyya and the Byzantine army of
Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
subsequently raided Ma'arrat Misrin, burned its outskirts and killed several of its inhabitants. The Seljuks captured it towards the end of the 11th century, and the Seljuk prince of Antioch, Yaghi-Basan, died in Ma'arat Misrin in 1097.


Crusades

In 1099, Ma'arat Misrin was conquered by the
Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
who killed the town's defenders and destroyed the ''
minbar A minbar (; sometimes romanized as ''mimber'') is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam (leader of prayers) stands to deliver sermons (, ''khutbah''). It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and le ...
'' ("pulpit") of its
mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
. However, after the capture of
Baldwin I of Edessa Baldwin I, also known as Baldwin of Boulogne (1060s – 2April 1118), was the first count of Edessa from 1098 to 1100, and king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death in 1118. He was the youngest son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lor ...
, the inhabitants of Ma'arat Misrin and nearby
al-Fu'ah Al-Fu'ah ( ar, الْفُوعَة, al-Fūʿah, also spelled al-Fouaa and al-Fo'ua) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located northeast of Idlib. Nearby localities include Kafriya to the west, Maarrat Mis ...
and
Sarmin Sarmin ( ar, سَرْمِين, Sarmīn also spelled Sarmeen) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located 15 kilometers southeast of Idlib. It has an altitude of about 390 meters. Nearby localities i ...
revolted against their Crusader rulers in 1104, inflicting heavy casualties against their troops. Within a few years, Ma'arrat Misrin entered the hands of the
Ismaili Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
s who launched an assault from there against Crusader-held
Shaizar Shaizar or Shayzar ( ar, شيزر; in modern Arabic Saijar; Hellenistic name: Larissa in Syria, Λάρισα εν Συρία in Greek) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located northwest of Hama. Nearby l ...
in April 1114. However, the Ismailis were routed by the Bani Munqidh, a local
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
tribe. Ma'arat Misrin once again came under Crusader control after the town capitulated upon the approach of Baldwin II in 1119. The
Burid The Burid dynasty was a dynasty of Turkish origin ''Burids'', R. LeTourneau, The Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. I, ed. H.A.R. Gibb, J.H. Kramers, É. Lévi-Provençal and J. Schacht, (Brill, 1986), 1332. which ruled over the Emirate of Damascus ...
and
Artuqid The Artuqid dynasty (alternatively Artukid, Ortoqid, or Ortokid; , pl. ; ; ) was a Turkoman dynasty originated from tribe that ruled in eastern Anatolia, Northern Syria and Northern Iraq in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries. The Art ...
rulers
Toghtekin Toghtekin or Tughtekin (Modern tr, Tuğtekin; Arabicised epithet: ''Zahir ad-Din Tughtikin''; died February 12, 1128), also spelled Tughtegin, was a Turkic military leader, who was ''atabeg'' of Damascus from 1104 to 1128. He was the founder o ...
and
Ilghazi Najm ad-Din Ilghazi ibn Artuq (died November 8, 1122) was the Turkmen Artukid ruler of Mardin from 1107 to 1122. He was born into the Oghuz tribe of Döğer. Biography His father Artuk Bey was the founder of the Artukid dynasty, and had be ...
besieged it the next year, prompting Baldwin II to lead a relief effort. Afterward, a peace treaty between the two factions was made, whereby Ma'arrat Misrin,
Kafartab Kafartab ( ar, كفرطاب, also spelled ''Kafr Tab'' or ''Kafar Tab'', known as Capharda by the Crusaders) was a town and fortress in northwestern Syria that existed during the medieval period between the fortress cities of Maarat al-Numan in t ...
and al-Bara would remain with the Crusaders. It served as the Crusaders' camp during Alsunqur al-Bursuqi's raids in the area in early 1126 until they were forced to withdraw due to a supplies shortage. In 1129
Imad ad-Din Zengi Imad al-Din Zengi ( ar, عماد الدین زنكي;  – 14 September 1146), also romanized as Zangi, Zengui, Zenki, and Zanki, was a Turkmen atabeg, who ruled Mosul, Aleppo, Hama, and, later, Edessa. He was the namesake of the Zengid dyna ...
stormed Ma'arrat Misrin's suburbs, while the
Zengid The Zengid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Oghuz Turkic origin, which ruled parts of the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia on behalf of the Seljuk Empire and eventually seized control of Egypt in 1169. In 1174 the Zengid state extended from Tripoli ...
governor of Aleppo, Sawar, plundered the town in 1132 before retreating to Aleppo. In 1175,
Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni ...
Sultan
Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...
undertook a successful campaign against the Ismailis who controlled Maarrat Misrin and its surroundings. Saladin appointed his maternal uncle, Shihab al-Din al-Hariri, as governor of the area. During the summer of 1222, the Ayyubid ''
emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
'' of Aleppo, al-Salih, gained control over Ma'arrat Misrin, only to exchange it for Aintab in 1227. In 1240, the town was invaded and sacked by the Khwarezmiyya.


Ottoman era

In the 17th century during the
Ottoman rule Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...
, Ma'arat Misrin was the center of a
Qadaa A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...
in the Aleppo Vilayet. The town was a large village situated among
sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...
fields and
olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...
groves in the late 19th century. In the early 20th century, American archaeologist
Robert Garrett Robert S. Garrett (May 24, 1875 – April 25, 1961) was an American athlete, as well as investment banker and philanthropist in Baltimore, Maryland and financier of several important archeological excavations. Garrett was the first modern Ol ...
noted that the town's soil was "unusually fertile" and that there was an abundance of fig trees.


Modern era

In the early period of
French Mandate The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (french: Mandat pour la Syrie et le Liban; ar, الانتداب الفرنسي على سوريا ولبنان, al-intidāb al-fransi 'ala suriya wa-lubnān) (1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate foun ...
rule, Ma'arrat Misrin was the center of a ''
nahiya A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...
'' ("sibdistrict") in the larger district of Aleppo. The town had a population of around 3,000 inhabitants in 1930. In 1945, Maarrat Misrin, which was under the jurisdiction of the district of
Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m = 500 , area_code = 23 , geocode = C3871 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info ...
, had 5,000 inhabitants.Gibb, 1960, p. 921-922. Ma'arrat Misrin serves a large market town for the surrounding rural agricultural villages. The grocers market in the city covers several blocks.Hubbard, Ben
Rebel-Held Syrian Town Struggles To Keep The Peace
''
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
''. 2012-06-25.


Syrian Civil War

Ma'arrat Masrin has seen violence during the ongoing Syrian Civil War which began in 2011. Small demonstrations against government corruption and the security services began in April 2011. On 12 December 2011 opposition activists claimed the
Syrian Army " (''Guardians of the Homeland'') , colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive * Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki , anniversaries = August 1st , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War Six ...
"indiscriminately" killed eleven people in the town and nearby
Kafr Yahmul Kafr Yahmul ( ar, كَفْر يَحْمُول, Kafr Yaḥmūl; also spelled, Kafrehmul) is a Syrian village located in Maarrat Misrin Nahiyah in Idlib District, Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m ...
. The incident began when soldiers allegedly shot dead two civilians in Ma'arrat Misrin prompting residents to block the main road leading to the villages. The army then fired randomly, resulting in eleven deaths.Syria unrest: Deadly clashes hit restive north-west
''
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
''. 2011-12-13.
The next day, defectors from the army attacked a convoy of security forces in the Idlib region, killing seven, according to activists. Hours later two more residents were shot by Syrian security forces during a funeral procession for those killed the previous day. Tit-for-tat kidnappings have occurred throughout the uprising between residents of Ma'arrat Misrin and the nearby Shia Muslim towns of
al-Fu'ah Al-Fu'ah ( ar, الْفُوعَة, al-Fūʿah, also spelled al-Fouaa and al-Fo'ua) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located northeast of Idlib. Nearby localities include Kafriya to the west, Maarrat Mis ...
and
Kafriya Kafriya ( ar, كفريا, also spelled Kifarya or Kefraya) is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located northwest of Idlib. Nearby localities include Maarrat Misrin to the north, Zardana to the northeast, ...
. In March 2012 the Syrian Army shelled the city, resulting in the deaths of five residents. The head of the city's eight-member rebel council negotiated an end to the fighting whereby opposition rebels would remove their checkpoints and the army would cease military operations against the town. Fighting between the two largely stopped, however, according to a Syrian military source cited by Syrian Documents, on 7 September 2012, the Syrian Army ambushed a rebel unit in Ma'arrat Misrin. More than 42 were killed. In December 2012, a kidnapped NBC News team was held hostage in a chicken farm near Ma'arrat Misrin controlled by FSA-aligned
rebel A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...
group North Idlib Falcons Brigade.


References


Bibliography

* * * * {{Idlib Governorate, idlib Towns in Syria Populated places in Idlib District