Kanaker, Syria
| Kanaker كناكر | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
  Kanaker | |
| Coordinates: 33°16′2″N 36°5′49″E / 33.26722°N 36.09694°E | |
| Country |
 Syria |
| Governorate | Rif Dimashq Governorate |
| District | Qatana District |
| Nahiyah | Sa'sa' |
| Population (2004 census)[1] | |
| • Total | 13,950 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Area code(s) | 11 |
Kanaker (Arabic: كناكر) is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located southwest of Damascus. Nearby localities include Sa'sa' to the west, Beit Saber to the northwest, Khan al-Shih to the north, Zakiyah, al-Taybah, Khan Dannun and al-Kiswah to the northeast, Deir Ali and Jubb al-Safa to the east, Ghabaghib to the southeast, Kafr Nasej and Deir al-Adas to the south and Jabah to the southwest. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Kanaker had a population of 13,950 in the 2004 census, making it the largest locality in the nahiyah ("subdistrict") of Saasaa.[1] Kanaker marks the western boundary of the Marj al-Suffar plain.[2]
Kanaker was settled by Druze from Mount Lebanon in 1862 and by 1867, the Abu Ras family, a prominent Druze clan and ally of the al-Atrash family, gained control of the village.[3] When the chief of the al-Atrash, Ismail Pasha, stayed a night at Kanaker, he massacred its Christian inhabitants before launching an attack on the Christian forces of the Shihab dynasty at Rashaya in Lebanon.[4] Kanaker continued to be inhabited by Druze through 1883 and a certain time beyond.[5]
Syrian civil war
During the ongoing Syrian civil war, on 27 July 2011, the Syrian human rights groups reported that eight or eleven people were killed during a Syrian Army raid in Kanaker and about 250 people were arrested. Four tanks and a bulldozer reportedly entered the village while another 14 tanks surrounded the place.[6]
References
- 1 2 General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate. (Arabic)
- ↑ Bosworth, p. 546.
- ↑ Firro, 1992, p. 184.
- ↑ Marmaduke William Pickthall; Muhammad Asad (2000). Islamic Culture. Islamic Culture Board.
- ↑ Firro, 1992, p. 176.
- ↑ Syria forces kill eight in Kanaker raid - rights groups. BBC News. 2011-06-27.
Bibliography
- Elisséeff, N. "Mard̲j̲al-Ṣuffar". Encyclopaedia of Islam. 6 (Second ed.). pp. 546–548.
- Firro, Kais (1992). A History of the Druzes. 1. BRILL. ISBN 9004094377.
