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Al-Lataminah اللطامنةLatamneh
Town
Al-Lataminah in 2014
Al-LataminahLocation in Syria
Coordinates: 35°19′15″N 36°37′21″E / 35.32083°N 36.62250°E / 35.32083; 36.62250
Country	Syria
Governorate	Hama
District	Mahardah
Subdistrict	Kafr Zita
Control	Syrian Salvation Government
Population
• Total	16,267
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

Al-Lataminah (Arabic: اللطامنة, also spelled Latamneh or Latamnah) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located 39 kilometres (24 mi) northwest of Hama. Nearby localities include Karnaz to the northwest, Kafr Zita to the north, Murik to the northeast, Suran to the east, Taybat al-Imam to the southeast, Halfaya and Mahardah to the south, Shaizar and Kafr Hud to the southwest and Hayalin and al-Suqaylabiyah to the west. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Lataminah had a population of 16,267 in the 2004 census, making it the second largest locality in the nahiyah of Kafr Zita. Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.

Al-Lataminah and its vicinity contain several caves, many of which had been used as homes for the village's residents. On the eve of the civil war, the use of modern housing had prevailed, but a few families continued to live in the caves. During the course of the war, most of residents were displaced.

History

Al-Lataminah was inhabited during the Stone Age and excavations by teams from the Arab world, the United States, France and the Netherlands have been held at the site. One such excavation was held in 1965 and several artifacts were uncovered.

Ottoman era

When Swiss traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt visited the region in the early 19th-century, during Ottoman rule, al-Lataminah was described as the "principal village" of Sanjak Hama. During this period the village was part of the Sanjak (District) of Hama and in late 1829, it consisted of 84 faddan, larger than any other village in the district except for Taldou. It paid 8,250 qirsh in taxes, the highest rate of the revenue-producing (hasil) villages in the district. In 1838, it had a predominantly Sunni Muslim population. Towards the end of Egyptian Khedivate rule (1832–1841), in 1840, al-Lataminah was a large village that paid a moderate tax rate of 700 qirsh, as result of a tax decrease for rural villages at the expense of urban towns.

Ongoing Syrian civil war

The Syrian state media reported that on 9 March 2012, al-Lataminah's mayor was kidnapped from his home by anti-government fighters. His car had been stolen earlier on 30 September 2011. On 7 April 2012 secret United Nations monitors reported that dozens of residents were killed when the village was shelled by government forces, days before a truce was to be established. The fatality count ranged from 24 to 27 and activists reported that the shelling was part of an attempt by security forces to raid the town after two days of clashes with defectors from the Syrian Army.

In September 2012 Al Jazeera English classified al-Lataminah as a "rebel village". A girl was reportedly killed and several more people were injured as a result of shelling by government forces on 12 September. In a mid-December 2012 rebel offensive against government-held positions in the Hama Governorate, al-Lataminah was captured by opposition forces along with a string of several other villages.

Gas attacks were reported as occurring in Al-Lataminah in October 2016. Additional attacks occurred on 24 and 25 March in 2017. They were substantially confirmed a year later by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) as having been a sarin gas attack, and a chlorine gas attack, respectively. Another sarin gas attack occurred on 30 March 2017. On April 8, 2020, the OPCW issued a report determining that the Syrian Air Force was the perpetrator of these chemical weapon attacks.

From 2017, the city was situated in the southernmost sector of rebel-held territory (sometimes called the Idlib pocket although Al-Lataminah is part of Hama Governate). As a result, the city was exposed to attacks by the Syrian Armed Forces from three directions, and suffered repeated bombardments despite the cease-fire arrangements supposedly provided by the 2016 Astana accord.

On 20 August 2019, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the rebel and Islamic factions including jihadi groups like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) had withdrawn from Lataminah in north Hama province amid a military operation by Syrian government forces.

On 30 November 2024, HTS rebels captured the city from the Syrian Army during the Hama offensive.

References

1. General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Hama Governorate. (in Arabic)
2. "Alawites prepare as IS, Jabhat al-Nusra close in on regime areas". Al-Monitor. Al-Monitor. 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
3. Abdel Hassan, Mahmoud. The Caverns of al-Lataminah. E-Homs. E-Syria. 2009-04-16. (in Arabic)
4. Baiou, Sabrine (2021-11-29). "Under the Guise of Aid: The Far-Right French NGO Allegedly Supporting War Crimes in Syria". New Lines Institute. Retrieved 2022-09-14. Today, all of Lataminah's surviving inhabitants, along with the inhabitants of surrounding villages, have been displaced, many into refugee camps in northern Syria or as refugees in Turkey and elsewhere
5. Fansa, 2008, p. 131.
6. "Orientalia". Gregorian Biblical BookShop. 37: 166.
7. Burckhardt, 1822, p. 141.
8. Douwes, 2000, pp. 224-225.
9. Smith, in Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 178
10. Douwes, 2000, p. 202.
11. Head of al-Latamneh City Council Abducted, 2 Children Injured in Explosion, Authorities Kill Terrorists, Gunmen Turn Themselves In Archived 2012-04-14 at the Wayback Machine. Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). 2012-03-09.
12. Syria fighting 'kills 100' ahead of ceasefire. BBC News. 2012-04-07.
13. Syria deaths increase despite UN deadline. Al Jazeera English. 2012-04-07.
14. Intense fighting rages in Syrian cities. Al-Jazeera English. 2012-09-12.
15. Khoury, Mariam. Rebels seize towns in central Syria. Reuters. 2012-12-19.
16. "Dozens of cases of suffocation with Toxic gas in Hama". Baladi News Network. 2 October 2016. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018.
17. "Summary of Open Source Evidence from the March 25th 2017 Chlorine Attack in Al-Lataminah, Hama". Leicester, England: Bellingcat. 9 October 2017. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017.
18. "Chemical weapons watchdog: Sarin, chlorine "very likely" used in 2017 Syria atatcks [sic]". CBS News. 13 June 2018. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018.
19. "Investigating the March 30, 2017 Sarin Attack in Al-Lataminah". Leicester, England: Bellingcat. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017.
20. Watchdog: Syrian Air Force Responsible for Chemical Attacks
21. "Fearing to fall in a complete siege, the factions and jihadi groups withdraw from Khan Shaykhun city and towns and villages south of it in the northern countryside of Hama". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (in Arabic). 20 August 2019.
22. "Syrian army withdraws from Hama as rebels push toward Homs". Türkiye Today. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
23. ""The Authority" controls Aleppo International Airport and many cities and towns in the northern Hama countryside amid a complete collapse of the regime forces" (in Arabic). SOHR. 30 November 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.

Bibliography

• Burckhardt, John Lewis (1822). Travels in Syria and the Holy Land. J. Murray.
• Douwes, Dick (2000). The Ottomans in Syria: a history of justice and oppression. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1860640311.
• Fansa, Mamoun (2008). Die Kunst der frühen Christen in Syrien: Zeichen, Bilder und Symbole vom 4. bis 7. Jahrhundert : Begleitband zur Sonderausstellung im Landesmuseum Natur und Mensch Oldenburg (in German). Zabern. ISBN 978-3805339193.
• Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.

v t e Hama Governorate
Hama District Hama Subdistrict Hama Abu Dardah Abu Mansaf Adabas al-Alamein Amarat Aslan Arzah Awja al-Janah Ayyo Bahra Bayad Besirin al-Buraq Billin al-Daminah Ghawr al-Assi al-Hashimiyah Hawayiz Umm Jurn Hawir al-Salib Jajiyah Jarjara Jarjisa Jibrin Jinan Jumaqliyah Juziyah Kafraa Kafr Amim Kafr Buhum Kafr al-Tun Kassun al-Jabal al-Khula al-Khalidiyah Khitab Maar Daftein Maarin al-Jabal Maar Shuhur al-Mubattan Madbaa Maqtaa al-Hajar Matnin Mubarakat Muraywid al-Narjis al-Nazaza Qamhana Qubaybat al-Assi al-Rabiaa Raabun al-Ruqaita Safinah Samrah Sawa Shihat Hama Shiraaya Surayhin Suwak al-Shamali al-Suwayda al-Gharbiyah al-Suwayda al-Sharqiyah Taqsis Tayzin Tishrin Tuwaym Tell al-Nahr Tell Qartal Umm al-Amad Umm al-Tuyour Zabada Zor Abu Dardah Zor al-Sarmiyah Zor Taqsis Hirbnafsah Subdistrict Hirbnafsah Aqrab Akrad Ibrahim Baja Birin Bisin al-Biyah Bulous Deir al-Fardis al-Humayri Jidrin al-Jafiah Kafr Qadah Khirbet Aref Khirbet al-Jami Khirbet al-Qasr al-Muah Musa al-Houla Qufaylun al-Rawda Suma'ah Talaf al-Tulaysiyah al-Janubiyah Toumin Zara'a Suran Subdistrict Suran Atshan Buwaydah Fan Shamali al-Junaynah Kawkab Khafsin Khirbet al-Hajama Lahaya Maardis Maarkaba Ma'an Masasneh Murak Qasr Abu Samrah Qasr al-Makhram Qubaybat Abu al-Huda Shatheh Taybat al-Imam Taybat al-Ism al-Tulaysiyah Umm Haratayn Zor Abu Zayd Zor al-Haysa al-Sharqiyah Hamraa Subdistrict Al-Hamraa Abu Ajwa al-Ala al-Anz Arfa Aziziyah Baroudiyah Bayud Dali Duma Fayda Halabiyah Huways Ibn Hadib Haymaniyah al-Hazim Janat al-Sawarnah Jubb al-Uthman Jubb al-Safa Junaynah Jadduah Shamaliyah Kharsan Maaloula Muwaylah al-Sirwana Maar Shamali Qanater Qasr Ali Qasr Ibn Wardan Rabda Rasm Anz Rasm al-Daheriyah Rasm al-Ward Ruhayyah Shihat al-Hamraa al-Samaqiyah al-Qibliyah Suruj Tarfawi Tharwat Tulayhat Tuwal Dabaghin Umm Habes Umm Turaykat al-Qibliyah Umm Zahmak al-Zughbah
Al-Suqaylabiyah District Al-Suqaylabiyah Subdistrict Al-Suqaylabiyah Abr Bayt Sayf Abu Klifun Ammurin Anab Ayn al-Kurum Ayn Waridah Ballunah Breij al-Hurra Hawrat Ammurin Hayalin Jurniyat al-Tar Karamah al-Khandaq al-Gharbi al-Khandaq al-Sharqiyah Khansaa Maksar Mashta' al-Shalahmah Nabi al-Tib Qalaat Jaras Rawdat al-Tar al-Rihana Saidiyah Salba Saqiyat Najm Shahta al-Shajar Tahunat al-Halawa Tell Kumbatri Tell al-Titeen Uwaynah Shathah Subdistrict Shathah Ayn Jurjin Farikah Haydariyah Jubb al-Ghar Jurin Mashta Mahfuz Maradash Na'ur Jurin Nubl al-Khatib Qatrat al-Rihan Rihana Tell Salhab Subdistrict Tell Salhab Abu Qubays Abu Faraj Al-Asharinah Birat al-Jabal Ayn al-Jurn Hawayeq Hawr al-Mawsil Kanayes al-Kashati Khareb al-Latma Mazhal Nahr al-Bared Ras al-Jurn Tamaza Tubah Ziyarah Subdistrict Al-Ziyarah al-Amara al-Amqiyah Tahta al-Ankawi Awja al-Tuba al-Bahsa Barakah Duqmaq Duwayr al-Akrad Ayn al-Hamaam Fawru Khirbet al-Naqus Mansura Maarana Mashik al-Qahira Qarqur Qastal al-Burayj Qastun Qulaydin al-Safsafa Sirmaniyah al-Sindiyana Tell Wasit Zayzun al-Zaqum Qalaat al-Madiq Subdistrict Qalaat al-Madiq Ashrafiyah al-Bani al-Aziziyah Bab al-Taqa al-Barid Deir Sunbul al-Huwayz al-Huwayz al-Shamali al-Hamra al-Hawash al-Humayrat al-Hurriyah Hawijah Fauqa Hawijah Sayyad Hawijat al-Sallah Jamasat Udayat al-Jayyid Kafr Nabudah al-Karim Kawri al-Kurkat Mastarihat Afamiyah Midan Ghazal Qabr Fidda al-Qahirah Qiratah al-Ramlah al-Rasif Salihiyah Sahariyah Shahranaz al-Sha'irah Tell Huwash Tamana al-Ghab al-Thuwarah al-Tuwayni al-Zitiyah
Masyaf District Masyaf Subdistrict Masyaf Anbura al-Bayda al-Bayyadiyah Biqraqa al-Bustan Biqasqas Deir Huwayt Deir Mama Deir al-Salib al-Findara Hayalin al-Haylunah al-Hurayf Jobet Kalakh Kafr Aqid al-Laqbah Mashta Deir Mama Matna al-Nahda Qabu Shamsiyah Qayrun Qurtuman Rabu al-Rusafa al-Shamsiyah al-Shiha Sighata al-Suwaydah Tayr Jamlah Tayr Jubbah Tell Afar al-Zamaliyah al-Zaynah Awj Subdistrict Awj Akakir Baarin Bishanin Huwayr al-Turukman Kafr Kamra Khirbet Nisaf Khanazir Nisaf Qarmas Qasraya Ta'unah Zor Baarin Ayn Halaqim Subdistrict Ain Halaqim Ayn al-Shams Aq Duqar Asheq Omar Ba'amrah Barshin Bayt Atiq Bayt Natar al-Dulaybah Hermel Hikr Bayt Atiq Kahf al-Habash Khirbet Hazur al-Majawi al-Mashrafah Qasr al-Ayan Tin al-Sabil Jubb Ramlah Subdistrict Jubb Ramlah Alamiyah Asilah Deir Shamil Dimu Hanjur Hizanu Julaymadun Jarajis Kanafu Khan Jalaymadun Maarin Mahrusah Mushashin Qurayyat Qurin Sarmiyah Sulukiyah Uqayrabah Zahraa Zawi Wadi al-Uyun Subdistrict Wadi al-Uyun Ammuriyah Ayn al-Bayda Ayn Farraj Ayn al-Karam Bashawi Bayt Raqata Barayzah Bir al-Wadi Birat al-Jurd Duwayr al-Mashayekh Jabita Kafr Laha Kamaliyah Marha Maysara Naqir Qussiyah al-Sindiyana Tamarqiyah Zaytuna
Mahardah District Mahardah Subdistrict Mahardah Abu Ubaydah Abu Rubays al-Arid Halfaya Huwat al-Judaydah Kafr Hud Khirbet Subin Khunayzir Maarzaf (al-Qubeir) al-Majdal Shaizar Shir Safsafiyah Tell Malah Tell Sikkin Tremseh Zilaqiat Zawr al-Qaadah Kafr Zita Subdistrict Kafr Zita Arba'in Hamamiyat Latmin al-Sayyad al-Zakah Karnaz Subdistrict Karnaz al-Asman al-Jalamah Jubbayn al-Lataminah al-Mughayr Shaykh Hadid
Salamiyah District Salamiyah Subdistrict Salamiyah Ali Kasun Bardunah Buwaydah Dunaybah Danin Duwaybah Fan Qibli Fan Wastani al-Ghawi Halban Jamala al-Kafat Karim Khafiyah Khunayfis Kaytalun al-Malih Marj Mattar Nawa Qablahat Qubbat al-Kurdi al-Rubbah al-Sabil Safawi Samnah Shakara Shaykh Ali Sibaa Shaykh Rih Smakh Sunaydah Tell Ada Tell Dahab Tell Hasan Basha Tell Khaznah Tell Sinan Taldara Tirad Thawra Thayl al-Jal Tiba al-Turki Tuba Tulul al-Humur Umm al-Amad Umm Tuwaynah al-Uwayr Zighrin Barri Subdistrict Barri Sharqi Abu Hanaya Abu Habilat Akash Arshunah Barri al-Gharbi Furaytan al-Hardanah al-Khurayjah Mafkar al-Gharbi Mafkar Sharqi Salam Gharbi Tell al-Tut Tell Jadid Umm Mil Sabburah Subdistrict Sabburah Abu Khanadiq Aqarib Fawrah al-Judaydah Jadduah Jubb Zurayq Jissin Khunayfis al-Dawsa Mabujah Qanafath Qubaybat Salba Samiriyah Shahba Shuhayb Tell Abd al-Aziz Tell al-Ghir Tell al-Shih Umm Khurayzah Uqayribat Subdistrict Uqayribat Abu Dali Abu Hakfa Abu al-Fashafish Bustan al-Subeih Dakhilah Hamada al-Omar Hanutah Haddaj Jani al-Albawi Jubb Abyad Jubb Dakhilah Jayruh Makhbuta Masud Mashrafah Na'imiyah Makaymin Shamali Qastal Rasm al-Abid Rasm Elahmar Rasm al-Bardakana Ruwaydah Suha Tabara al-Hamra Tahmaz Saan Subdistrict Al-Saan Abu Hurayk Abu al-Ghor Abu al-Qusur Amya Aniq Bajra Awja–Qabasin al-Arab al-Ayah Baghadid Harat al-Sharqiyah Hasu al-Qiblawi Ithriya Jakuziyah Jubb Khasara Makharib Mawilah Rahjan Rasm al-Ahmar Rasm Amun Sarha Shaykh Hilal al-Suwayah Umm Mayal

• Populated places in Mahardah District