Ayn al-Fijeh
|
Ain al-Fijah عين الفيجة |
|
|---|---|
| Town | |
 Ain al-Fijah
|
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| Coordinates: 33°36′50″N 36°10′48″E / 33.614°N 36.18°E | |
| Country |
 Syria
|
| Governorate | Rif Dimashq Governorate |
| District | Qudsaya District |
| Nahiyah | Ain al-Fijah |
| Population (2004 census) | |
| • Total | 3,806 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
Ain al-Fijah (Arabic: عين الفيجة, also spelled Ayn al-Fijeh and Ein Al Fejeh) is a small town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located 25 kilometers northwest of Damascus. Nearby localities include Deir Muqaran to the west, al-Zabadani to the northwest, Basimah to the southeast and Qudsaya to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 3,806 in the 2004 census. The town is also the administrative centre of—though not the largest town in—the Ain al-Fijah nahiyah ("subdistrict"), which is made up of six localities with a combined population of 19,584. Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.
The town was built around the Ain al-Fijah springs (Greek: πηγη, translit. Pigi, means "Spring"), the source of the Barada River which supplies Damascus with freshwater. In the 1st century CE, the Romans constructed a temple at Ain al-Fijah. In 1907 the Ottoman authorities installed the first clean water pipe was installed at the springs. In 1924 Syrian businessmen Lutfi al-Haffar and Abd al-Wahab al-Qanawati founded the Ain al-Fijah Company, which would use water from spring for irrigation purposes. Throughout the early 20th-century, the company was one of the most profitable and innovative in Damascus.
Ain al-Fijah came into the spotlight during the ongoing Syrian Civil War when in December 2016, its water processing facility was destroyed, cutting off supply from the spring and thereby depriving Damascus 70 per cent of its water supply. The Assad government and the rebels seeking to depose him had previously had an understanding to keep water services running during the war, but this came to an end in mid-December, when pro-Assad forces launched an offensive to take the town after accusing rebels of contaminating the water supply with petroleum. The spring was destroyed on 22 December, and sources are unclear of who destroyed it, with the government and opposition blaming each other.
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