Karnaz كرناز |
|
---|---|
Town | |
General view of Karnaz
|
|
Location in Syria | |
Coordinates: 35°23′23″N 36°29′12″E / 35.389618°N 36.486657°ECoordinates: 35°23′23″N 36°29′12″E / 35.389618°N 36.486657°E | |
Country | Syria |
Governorate | Hama |
District | Mahardah |
Subdistrict | Karnaz |
Population (2004) | |
• Total | 14,075 |
Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
• Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
Karnaz (Arabic: كرناز, also spelled Kirnaz and Kernaz ) is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located northwest of Hama. Nearby localities include Kafr Zita, and Khan Shaykhun to the east, Kafr Nabudah to the north, Qalaat al-Madiq and al-Suqaylabiyah to the west and Kafr Hud, Tremseh and Shaizar to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Karnaz had a population of 14,075 in the 2004 census. Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.
Many peaceful demonstrations occurred in Kernaz with the beginning of the Syrian Revolution, especially between June 2011 and September 2012, opposition rebels had completely controlled the city until the beginning of January 2013, when Syrian Army and the supported militants surrounded the city from the west and the south, most of the civilians fled just few hours before the attack, the opposition rebels including FSA members holed up in the town, the military clashes continued for the three following weeks.
The battle ended with complete destruction of the town, and withdrawal of opposition forces. The regime forces entered the city and expropriated it in full, and its affiliated militias looted the properties of the people systematically. More than 250 people—militants and civilians—died in the town of Karnaz and its neighboring villages, some of civilians were killed under torture, almost all the buildings and facilities were completely destroyed, and the majority of the population, who have fled to refugee camps in Turkey.