Al-Shaddadah

al-Shaddadah الشدادة Şeddadê
Town
Location of al-Shaddadah in Syria
Coordinates:
Country	Syria
Governorate	al-Hasakah
District	al-Hasakah
Subdistrict	al-Shaddadah
Elevation	m ( ft)
Population (2004)	15,806
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Geocode	C4446
Website	{{#property:P856}}

Al-Shaddadah or Al-Shaddadi (Arabic: الشدادي‎‎, Kurdish: Şeddadê ) is a town in southern Al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria. The town is administrative center of the al-Shaddadah Nahiya consisting of 16 municipalities. At the 2004 census, al-Shaddadah had a population of 15,806. As a preliminary result of the ongoing Syrian Civil War, Al-Shaddadah today is situated within the autonomous Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava.

Name and geography

The town's name might be derived from "Shadadu"; a town mentioned in the annals of the Assyria king Assurnasirpal II. The town is situated off the western bank of the Khabur River. Nearby localities include al-Sabaa wa Arbain to the west.

Syrian Civil War

In the course of the Syrian Civil War, the city was attacked by the al-Nusra Front in the February 2013 Battle of Shadadeh and was captured 3 days later. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, over 100 Syrian Arab Army soldiers and 40 al-Nusra fighters were killed, as well as dozens of petroleum workers.

The city was later controlled by the Islamic State and as of late 2015 remained one of the last ISIL strongholds in the province.

When in October 2015, Kurdish YPG and their multiethnic partners, including the al-Sanadid Forces of the Arab Shammar tribe, joined forces to form the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), al-Sanadid leader Bandar al-Humaydi made it an "immediate priority to liberate al-Hawl and al-Shaddadah from the Islamic State.”

On 24 November, it became known that ISIL militants were transferring their family members further south to eastern Syrian Deir ez-Zor province After the SDF captured the South Hasakah Dam on 30 November, they continued their offensive southward, towards the city of al-Shaddadah, now ISIL's last stronghold in al-Hasakah province. Subsequently, Arab tribal leaders reportedly urged ISIL to withdraw from the city "peacefully," in order to prevent civilian casualties and the possible collapse of the economic infrastructure in Al-Shaddadi, if a destructive battle between the SDF/Coalition forces and ISIL were to occur. It was also reported that ISIL was beginning to evacuate some of its positions near Al-Shaddadi, and that some ISIL militants were moving their families from the area to ISIL-held territories in the Deir ez-Zor Province, in preparation for the upcoming battle.

On 19 February 2016, the town was captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces.