Kafr Saghir (,

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

: ''Kefêr Sixîrê'', also written ''Kafr as Saghir'', ''Kafr Şaghīr'', ''Kafr as Safir'' or literally ''Little Kafr'') is a village in northern

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

Mount Simeon District Mount Simeon District () is a Districts of Syria, district of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of Aleppo. Until December 2008, the sub-district of Atarib District, Atāreb was part of Mount Simeon Distri ...

of the

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' ) is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, 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 the t ...

, just northwest of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

. Nearby localities include Ratyan,

Bayanoun Bayanoun () is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the A'zaz District of Aleppo Governorate, located northwest of Aleppo. Nearby localities include Al-Zahraa Al-Zahraa () is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the A ...

and Mayer to the north, Anadan, Huraytan to the west, Kafr Hamrah to the south and Shaykh Najjar to the east. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Kafr Saghir had a population of 3,130 in the 2004 census. Kafr Saghir has a largely

population.

Syrian civil war

During 2013 Kafr Saghir received in influx of Kurds from nearby

Tell Aran Tell Aran (; also spelled, Tell Arn; ancient Arne, Kurdish: ''Girê Aran'') is a Kurdish-majority town in northern Syria, administratively part of the al-Safira District of the Aleppo Governorate, located southeast of Aleppo close to Sabkhat al ...

and Tal Hasel. On 3 July 2014 during

Operation Canopus Star Operation Canopus Star () was an operation launched by the Syrian Army, supported by Hezbollah and other allied militias, during the Syrian Civil War, following a successful offensive which re-established the military's supply route between Al ...

, the Syrian military with help from Republican Guards and Hezbollah captured Kafr Saghir from opposition forces. After ISIL was driven from Kafr Saghir by the

Syrian Armed Forces The Syrian Armed Forces () are the military forces of Syria. Up until the fall of Bashar al-Assad's Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, Ba'ath Party Ba'athist Syria, regime in December 2024, the Syrian Arab Armed Forces were the sta ...

and the

Syrian Democratic Forces The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is a Kurds in Syria, Kurdish-led coalition of U.S.-backed Left-wing politics, left-wing ethnic militias and rebel groups, and serves as the official military wing of the Democratic Autonomous Administration ...

, a new, local militia named the " Kafr Saghir Martyrs Brigade" was formed by the two to protect the area. This unit later joined the Syrian National Resistance.

Kafr Saghir massacre

On 20 March 2016,

ISIL The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...

killed more than 20 Kurdish and Arab civilians in the eastern Aleppo town of Kafr Saghir. By 22 March, however, the Syrian Army managed to repel the ISIL offensive and regain control over the villages.

References

Populated places in Mount Simeon District Towns in Syria {{AleppoSY-geo-stub

Syrian civil war

Kafr Saghir massacre

See also

References