Atme ( ar, اطمه, ‘Aṭma, also spelled Atma, Atima, Atmeh) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located north of Idlib 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 transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. It lies southeast of Deir Ballut, south of Jindires, northwest of Qah and north of

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

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

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

. The town is under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Al-Qurayshi compound pre-op

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, 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