| Bariqa بريقة | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
| Buraykah | |
View of Bariqa, 2007 | |
  Bariqa  Bariqa | |
| Coordinates: 33°02′35″N35°52′16″E / 33.04306°N 35.87111°E Coordinates: 33°02′35″N35°52′16″E / 33.04306°N 35.87111°E | |
| Country |  |
| Governorate | Quneitra |
| District | Quneitra |
| Subdistrict | Quneitra |
| Population (2004) | |
| • Total | 371 |
| • Religions | Sunni Muslim |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Area code(s) | 14 |
Bariqa (Arabic : بريقة, also spelled Buraykah or Breikeh) is a village in southwestern Syria, administratively part of the Quneitra Governorate, south of Quneitra, in the Syrian-controlled portion of the Golan Heights. Nearby localities include Beer Ajam to the north, Naba al-Sakhr to the northeast, al-Harra and Namer 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. [1] Its inhabitants are predominantly Circassians from the Abadzekh tribe, [2] who profess Sunni Islam.
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Syrian Arabs, Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Circassians, Mandeans and Turks. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Isma'ilis, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Yazidis, and Jews. Sunni make up the largest religious group in Syria.
Quneitra Governorate is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in southern Syria, notable for the location of the Golan Heights. The governorate borders the countries of Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, and the Syrian governorates of Daraa and Rif Dimashq. Its area varies, according to different sources, from 685 km² to 1,861 km². The governorate had a population of 87,000 at the 2010 estimate. The nominal capital is the now abandoned city of Quneitra, destroyed by Israel before their withdrawal in June 1974 in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War; since 1986, the de facto capital is Ba'ath City.
The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant, spanning about 1,800 square kilometres (690 sq mi). The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between disciplines: as a geological and biogeographical region, the Golan Heights is a basaltic plateau bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon with Mount Hermon in the north and Wadi Raqqad in the east; and as a geopolitical region, the Golan Heights is the area captured from Syria and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War, territory which Israel effectively annexed in 1981. This region includes the western two-thirds of the geological Golan Heights, as well as the Israeli-occupied part of Mount Hermon.
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. 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 ("chief") of all the Circassian villages in the Golan Heights region. [3]
A mosque is a place of worship for Muslims.
Sheikh —also transliterated Sheik, Shykh, Shayk, Shaykh, Cheikh, Shekh, and Shaikh—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates the ruler of a tribe, who inherited the title from his father. "Sheikh" is given to a royal male at birth and the related title "Sheikha" is given to a royal female at birth.
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. [4] The village was reported to be under rebel control by 13 November. [5] On 26 July 2018, the Syrian army take back the town after rebels surrender and handing over the heavy and medium weapons to army. [6]
The Syrian Army, officially the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the most senior posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 percent of the combined services. The Syrian Army originated in local military forces formed by the French after World War I, after France obtained a mandate over the region. It officially came into being in 1945, before Syria obtained full independence the following year.
