Turkmen Mountain
جبل تركمان
Turkmen Mountain is located in Syria
Turkmen Mountain
Turkmen Mountain
Turkmen Mountain
Highest point
Coordinates35°46′53″N 35°58′57″E / 35.78139°N 35.98250°E / 35.78139; 35.98250
Geography
LocationLatakia, Syria

Turkmen Mountain (Arabic: جبل تركمان; Jabal Turkman,[1] Turkish: Türkmen Dağı) is a mountain range in the north of the Latakia region of Syria, in the area called Bayırbucak locally in Turkish, neighboring the Turkish border. The name is not historically attested in written sources, and came into use in the media around 2012. [2]

The mountain range runs along the eastern length of Latakia Governorate.[3] The area is mostly inhabited by Syrian Turkmen people and has seen military activity by the Syrian Army and Russian air strikes in late 2015.[4][5] Close to 300,000 Turkmens have been displaced since the start of the Syrian Civil War,[6] especially in The Turkmens mountains, where the Government enacted a demographic change by forcing the last remaining Turkmen families to leave to Turkey, and settled Alawite families in the areas controlled by government forces.[7]

Two Turkish F-16s shot down one of two Russian Su-24 fighter jets in Syria on 24 November 2015. Both pilots ejected safely, however one pilot was killed by Turkmen forces.[8][9]

References

  1. ^ Turkmen Mountain and Its Strategic Importance (Ar)
  2. ^ Winter, Stefan (2016). A History of the 'Alawis: From Medieval Syria to the Turkish Republic. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691173894.p. 100
  3. ^ "President Bashar Assad's homeland is no longer a safe place to retreat to". The Economist. 3 Nov 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Assad regime launches operation in Latakia region, attacks Syrian Turkmen village". DailySabah. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Russia, Assad regime continue pounding Turkmen Mountain". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  6. ^ "300,000 Turkmens displaced since outbreak of Syrian civil war". DailySabah. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  7. ^ "The regime forces the last remaining Turkmen Families to leave to Turkey". Enab Baladi. 10 April 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  8. ^ Tulay Karadeniz and Maria Kiselyova (24 November 2015). "Turkey downs Russian warplane near Syria border, Putin warns of 'serious consequences'". Reuters. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Turkey shoots down Russian jet for airspace violation near Syrian border - MIDEAST". 25 November 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
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