Mount Barṣa ( ǧabal Barṣa , Barṣa being a shortening of Barṣāyā) is a mountain in

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 ...

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 ...

. The mountain is located between

Azaz District Azaz District () is a district of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of Azaz. At the 2004 census, the district had a population of 251,769. The district lies between Afrin District to the west, Mount Sime ...

and

Afrin District Afrin District (, Kurdish: Herêma Efrînê) is a district of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of Afrin. At the 2004 census, the district had a population of 172,095. Also available in English: Afrin ...

Borders and description

The mountain is located between the Aʻzāz plain and the valley of River ʻIfrīn from east and west, respectively. To the south lie

Mount Simeon Mount Simeon or Mount Simon ( Jabal Simʻān ), also called Mount Laylūn (), is a highland region in Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. The mountain is located in the Mount Simeon (district), Mount Simeon and A'zaz District, Aʻzāz districts ...

, and to the north the plain of

Kilis Kilis is a city in southernmost Turkey, near the Syria–Turkey border, border with Syria, and the administrative centre of Kilis Province and Kilis District. Its population is 112,187 (2022). On 6 February 2023 Kilis was badly affected by the tw ...

where the Akpınar River, one of the headwaters of

Quweiq The Queiq (Modern Standard Arabic: , ''Quwayq'', ; northern Syrian Arabic: ''ʾWēʾ'', ), with many variant spellings, it was known to the Greeks in antiquity as the Belus in (, ''Bēlos''), the Chalos and also known in English as the Alep ...

, rises. The height of Mount Barṣa is 848m. The mountain is drained by an intermittent river called Aʻzāz River, which drains into the Quweiq and forms the northern boundary of

Syrian Civil War

The Syrian government retreated from the area in spring 2012 as per an agreement with the PYD, and the entire territory of Afrin saw almost no conflict for the next five years of the war. The mountain was however the site of fierce fighting between Turkish troops and Kurdish militants during the

Turkish military operation in Afrin Operation Olive Branch () was an invasion by the Turkish Armed Forces and Syrian National Army (SNA) in the Kurdish-majority Afrin District of northwest Syria, against the People's Protection Units (YPG) of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). ...

in late January 2018, where it was captured by Turkish troops. The area was heavily fortified with concrete bunkers, trenches and tunnels constructed by the defending militants.

References

Aleppo Geography of Aleppo Governorate Barsa {{AleppoSY-geo-stub