Al-Rai ( ar, الراعي, ''al-Ra'i'' or ''al-Rayi''; tr, Çobanbey), is a small 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 ...

, 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 ...

. With 4,609 inhabitants, as per the 2004 census, al-Rai is the administrative center of the sparsely populated Nahiya al-Rai. Located at the

Baghdad Railway Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

and close to the Turkish border, right across

Elbeyli Elbeyli, formerly Alimantar, is a town and district of Kilis Province in Turkey. Elbeyli was controlled by the Seljuk Turks between 1040 and 1157, then the Ilkhanate, and finally by the Anatolian beylik of Dulkadirids before being brought into t ...

, it is however a strategically important village. The town of Akhtarin, some to the southwest. Larger towns are

Azaz 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.

, some to the west, and Jarablus and

Manbij Manbij ( ar, مَنْبِج, Manbiǧ, ku, مەنبج, Minbic, tr, Münbiç, Menbic, or Menbiç) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, 30 kilometers (19 mi) west of the Euphrates. In the 2004 census by the Cen ...

, both some to the east. Prior to the Syrian Civil War, the town was inhabited primarily by Turkmen.Günümüzde Suriye Türkmenleri
Suriye’de Değişimin Ortaya Çıkardığı Toplum: Suriye Türkmenleri.
ORSAM Rapor № 83. ORSAM – Ortadoğu Türkmenleri Programı Rapor № 14. Ankara — November 2011.

Railway

The Al-Rai Railway Border Gate which had been closed since 1981, was reopened on 22 December 2009 after the 62 km line between Aleppo and Al-Rai was renewed. The opening ceremony was attended by the transport ministers of Turkey and Syria,

Binali Yıldırım Binali Yıldırım (; born 20 December 1955) is a Turkish politician who served as the 27th and last Prime Minister of Turkey from 2016 to 2018 and Speaker of the Grand National Assembly from 2018 to 2019. He was Leader of the Justice and Deve ...

and

Yaarub Bader Dr. Yarob Suleiman Badr ( ar, يعرب بدر) (born June 3, 1959 - Damascus, Syria) is a former Minister of Transport for Syria. He was previously a professor of civil engineering at Tishreen University in Latakia. He holds a PhD. from the Écol ...

Education

Education under Turkish occupation (2016–present)

On 3 February 2021, a

shoemaking Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...

and

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

ing workshop for prisoners was established in collaboration between Turkish-Dutch

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

Sumud and Turkey's Ministry of Youth and Sports. On 6 February 2021, '' Official Gazette of Turkey'' announced Turkey's plan to open a new

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health pr ...

vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the task ...

and a

medical faculty A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...

in Al-Rai. Syrian Foreign Ministry expressed their objection through Syria's official news agency

SANA Sana may refer to: Places * Sanaa, the capital of Yemen * Sana (river), a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina * Sana, Bhutan, a town in Bhutan * Sana, Haute-Garonne, a commune in France * Sana, Iran, a village in Iran * Sana, Mali, a commune in ...

, and named the decision "a dangerous act and a flagrant violation of international law".

Syrian Civil War

In the Syrian Civil War, al-Rai was captured by

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the govern ...

(FSA) forces and held until early February 2014, when the FSA-allies the

Al-Tawhid Brigade The al-Tawhid Brigade ( ar-at, لواء التوحيد, Liwa al-Tawhid, lit=Brigade of monothiesim), named after Tawhid, the "oneness of God," but often mistranslated as Unity Brigade, was an armed Islamist insurgent group involved in the Syria ...

and

Conquest Brigade , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Conquest Brigade logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = Logo of the militia , active = 2012 – ''present'' , ideology = Sunni Islamism * Salafi ...

were assaulted by a predominantly Chechen unit of 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 ter ...

, (ISIL) who seized the town on 3 February 2014. Since then, ISIL considered the town its main stronghold in the Aleppo countryside. In the course of their Northern Aleppo offensive, FSA units captured the town twice in April 2016 and in June 2016, but both times were not able to withstand counterattacks by ISIL. The FSA recaptured the town a third time in the August 2016 Battle of al-Rai, but lost it yet another time to an ISIL counterattack later in August. On 3 September 2016, rebels were reported to have recaptured the town for the fourth time with the help of Turkish forces (including tanks) and to have seized several villages close by.

Syrian Turkmen Brigades Syrian Turkmen Brigades ( tr, Suriye Türkmen Tugayları; ), also called the United Turkmen Army ( tr, Birleşik Türkmen Ordusu; ), are an informal armed opposition structure composed of Syrian Turkmen and Turks that form the military wing of ...

' political wing

Syrian Turkmen Assembly The Syrian Turkmen Assembly ( tr, Suriye Türkmen Meclisi, ar, المجلس السوري التركماني) is a coalition of Syrian Turkmen political parties and groups representing Syrian Turkmens in the Syrian National Council and the Syrian ...

announced the relocation of its headquarters into Al-Rai on 31 December 2019, which was previously located in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, Turkey.

Gallery

Al-Rayi nahiyah.svg, ''al-Rai'' is the administrative center of Nahiya al-Rai of the Al-Bab District Çobanbey_(Al-Rai)_Council.jpg, Al-Rai Council of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rai Turkmen communities in Syria Populated places in al-Bab District