Bariqa (, also spelled Buraykah or Breikeh) is a village in southwestern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, administratively part of the Quneitra Governorate, south of Quneitra, in the Syrian-controlled portion of the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

. Nearby localities include Beer Ajam to the north, Naba al-Sakhr to the northeast, al-Harra and

Namer Namer (, ; meaning "leopard," and also a syllabic abbreviation of "Nagmash" (APC) and "Merkava") is an Israeli armoured personnel carrier based on a Merkava#Merkava Mark IV, Merkava Mark IV tank chassis. Namer was developed by and is being asse ...

to the east, al-Suwaysah and Jasim to the southeast and al-Rafid to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Bariqa had a population of 371 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Quneitra Governorate. Its inhabitants are predominantly

Circassians The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe language, Adyghe and ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in t ...

from the Abadzekh tribe, who profess

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

. In the late 19th-century Bariqa was described as "one of the largest and best of the Circassian villages." It consisted of about 100 houses with 85 families, translating into an approximate population of 425, including 68 adult male fighters. Its streets were wide and clean, it abounded in heaps of hay and contained a well-built

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

. To the north of Bariqa was an icy-water spring and to the east was a pool which irrigated the village's crops. Bariqa served as the residence of the ''

sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

'' ("chief") of all the Circassian villages in the Golan Heights region. Opposition rebels and Syrian Army soldiers clashed in Bariqa and nearby Beer Ajam in November 2012, during the ongoing Syrian civil war, which began in 2011. Fatalities on both sides totaled about 30, according to a monitoring group. The village was reported to be under rebel control by 13 November. On 26 July 2018, the Syrian army took back the town after the rebels surrendered and handed over their heavy and medium weapons to army.After days of negotiations, an agreement and settlements were reached in towns in the northern countryside of Quneitra
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References

Bibliography

* {{Quneitra Governorate Circassian communities in Syria Populated places in Quneitra Governorate Villages in Syria 1870s establishments in Ottoman Syria