Halfaya ( ar, حلفايا, also spelled Helfaya) 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

Hama Governorate Hama Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة حماة / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥamā'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in western-central Syria, bordering Idlib and Aleppo Governorates to the south, Raqqa Governorate to th ...

, located about 25 kilometers northwest of

Hama Hama ( ar, حَمَاة ', ; syr, ܚܡܬ, ħ(ə)mɑθ, lit=fortress; Biblical Hebrew: ''Ḥamāṯ'') is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial ...

. Nearby localities include

Mahardah Maharda ( ar, محردة, Maḥarda, ), also spelled Mhardeh or Muhardah, is a city in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located about 23 kilometers northwest of Hama. It is situated along the Orontes River, near the ...

and Shaizar to the west, al-Lataminah and

Kafr Zita Kafr Zita ( ar, كفر زيتا, Kafr Zaytā, also spelled Kfar Zita, Kafr Zayta, Kfar Zeita, Keferzita or Kafr Zeita) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located 30 kilometers north of Hama. Nearby localitie ...

to the north, Taybat al-Imam and

Suran The Survivable Radio Network (SURAN) project was sponsored by DARPA in the 1980s to develop a set of mobile ad hoc network (MANET) radio-routers, then known as "packet radios". It was a follow-on to DARPA's earlier PRNET project. The program beg ...

to the east, Khitab and

Qamhana Qamhana ( ar, قمحانة, also spelled ''Qomhane'') is a Syrian town located in the Hama Subdistrict of the Hama District in Hama Governorate. It is situated immediately west of the Zayn al-Abidin Mountain. According to the Syria Central Bureau ...

to the southeast,

Tayzin Tayzin ( ar, تيزين, also spelled Tizin) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located just west of Hama. Nearby localities include Matnin to the north, al-Rabiaa to the southwest, Umm al-Tuyur t ...

to the south and Maarzaf to the southeast. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Halfaya had a population of 21,180 in the 2004 census. It is the largest locality in the Mahardah Subdistrict, which contained 21 localities with a combined population of 80,165 in 2004.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Hama Governorate.

History

In 1838, Halfaya was classified by scholar

Eli Smith Eli Smith (born September 13, 1801, in Northford, Connecticut, to Eli and Polly (Whitney) Smith, and died January 11, 1857, in Beirut, Lebanon) was an American Protestant missionary and scholar. He graduated from Yale College in 1821 and from And ...

as a

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 disagre ...

village. In the early French Mandate period in Syria, Halfaya was a ''musha ("

collective farming Collective farming and communal farming are various types of, "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member- ...

") village with a population of roughly 1,000. During that period, twelve clans collectively held the 47 faddans that made up the village, despite the fact that property titles indicated that the land was divided between the holders. On 16 December 2012, during the Syrian civil war that began in early 2011, opposition rebels assaulted

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-D ...

checkpoints in the vicinity and Halfaya was shelled by government forces. The fighting and shelling resulted in the deaths of 23 civilians in the town according to the pro-opposition

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 ...

(SOHR), and a later report by New Lines Institute. By 18 December rebels reportedly overran army positions around Halfaya and gained control over the town. Rebels had advanced south from Maarrat al-Nu'man and Jisr ash-Shugour, encountering little resistance. On 23 December government airstrikes hit a bakery in Halfaya while several people were queuing for bread. According to anti-government activists at least 90 people were killed, while fatalities have also been reported to be as high as 200. On 19 May 2013, the Syrian Army took control of Halfaya after rebel forces retreated from the town. In late August 2014, the rebels took control of Halfaya as part of their push towards Hama's military airport. The army recaptured it at a later date, but the rebels again took it in August 2016. The town was then recaptured by the SAA in April 2017.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Hama Governorate, mhardeh Populated places in Mahardah District Towns in Hama Governorate