Afrin Region

This article is about one of seven regions of the self-declared Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. For the Region's defunct subdivision, see Afrin Canton. For the previous Syrian district, see Afrin District.
Afrin Region
Herêma Efrînê
إقليم عفرين
ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܥܦܪܝܢ
De facto region
Flag of Afrin Region
Flag
The seven regions of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, the Afrin region in orange
The seven regions of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, the Afrin region in orange
Country Syria
GovernorateAleppo
De facto AdministrationAutonomous Administration of North and East Syria
Autonomy declaredJanuary 29, 2014 (2014-01-29)
Administrative center
Government
 • Prime MinisterHevi Ibrahim
Population
 • Estimate 
(2018)
323,000[4]
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Area code+963 21

Afrin Region (Kurdish: Herêma Efrînê, Arabic: إقليم عفرين, Classical Syriac: ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܥܦܪܝܢ, romanized: Ponyotho d'Afrin) is the westernmost of the three original regions of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

The region previously had two subordinate cantons, the Afrin Canton, consisting of the Afrin city area (with the Şêrewa, Mobata, Şêra and Maydankah districts subordinate to it), the Jindires area (with the Şiyê district subordinate to it), Rajo area (with the Bulbul, Maydana and Bahdina districts subordinate to it), as well as the Shahba Canton consisting of the Tell Rifaat area (with the Ahraz, Fafin and Kafr Naya districts subordinate to it).[5] The status of Manbij was unclear; while some reports described it as part of the Shabha Canton and Afrin Region, communal and regional elections weren't held there, and official documents that clarified the new regional framework didn't refer to Manbij.[6][7][8][9]

Afrin Region was first declared autonomous under the name of Afrin Canton in January 2014.[10][11] The subdivision of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria was renamed to Afrin Region during subdivision-congresses held in July and August 2017, while the name 'Afrin Canton' was then given to one of its two subdivisions as the canton or province became the name for second-level subdivisions in the Federation. Most of the Region's territory (including Afrin Canton) is under the Turkish occupation of northern Syria since early 2018. The last elected prime minister of Afrin Region was Hevi Ibrahim. The administrative centre of the region was the city of Afrin (now Tell Rifaat).[12]

  1. ^ Abboud 2018, Table 4.1 Cantons of the Rojava Administration.
  2. ^ Walid Al Nofal; Tariq Adely (12 March 2018). "Turkish-backed rebels poised to encircle Afrin city after days of swift advances". Syria Direct. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Afrin Canton Executive Council: We promise to return home". ANF. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  4. ^ "UN 'alarmed' over children casualties in Afrin".
  5. ^ "The administrative division of Efrîn region | ANHA". Archived from the original on 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
  6. ^ Rojava authorities. "Announce elections". Rudaw.
  7. ^ Muslim, Salim. "Only way to keep Syria united by the adoption of a decentralised, democratic and secular system". vrede.be. Vrede vzw. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  8. ^ Iddon, Paul (10 September 2017). "The power plays behind Russia's deconfliction in Afrin". Rudaw. Rudaw. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Kurdish force may leave Raqqa campaign if Turkey continues attacks". Rudaw. Rudaw. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  10. ^ "Democratic autonomy has declared in Afrin canton in Rojava". Mednuce. 29 January 2014. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  11. ^ "After Cizîre, Kobanê Canton has been declared". Firat News. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  12. ^ "The Constitution of the Rojava Cantons; Personal Website of Mutlu Civiroglu". civiroglu.net. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.