Al-Manajir

al-Manajir المناجير Menacîr
Village
al-Manajir Location of al-Manajir in Syria
Coordinates: 36°41′7″N 40°11′52″E / 36.68528°N 40.19778°E / 36.68528; 40.19778Coordinates: 36°41′7″N 40°11′52″E / 36.68528°N 40.19778°E / 36.68528; 40.19778
Country	Syria
Governorate	al-Hasakah
District	Ras al-Ayn
Subdistrict	Ras al-Ayn
Population (2004)[1]	12,156
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Geocode	C5017

al-Manajir (Arabic: المناجير‎‎, Kurdish: Menacîr‎), often referred to as Manajir, Manajer or Manjar, is a large village in northwestern al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria. At the 2004 census, al-Manajir had a population of 12,156.^[1] As a preliminary result of the ongoing Syrian Civil War, Al-Manajir today is situated in Jazira Canton within the autonomous Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava framework.

Geography

al-Manajir lies on the right (southern) bank of Khabur River inmidst the fertile agricultural area of the Upper Khabur Valley, located around 20 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Ras al-Ayn and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west of Tell Tamer. It administratively belongs to Nahiya Ras al-Ayn.

History

al-Manajir had a Syriac Christian majority with Kurdish and Arab minorities, until in 1973 Syrian president Hafez al-Assad commenced a large-scale settlement program, systematically settling Bedouins in the areas bordering Iraq and Syria to weaken the demographic dominance of the Kurds and keep the area under tighter control. After the best plots of land were redistributed to settlers of the Baggara tribe, it is said that most of the original inhabitants left the village.^[2]

Syrian Civil War

During the Syrian Civil War, the region of Manajir has remained heavily contested between late 2012 and mid-2015.

Attacked by FSA rebels and allied Islamist fighters, the Syrian Army withdrew from its positions in Ras al-Ayn by the end of November 2012. The long Battle of Ras al-Ayn commenced, eventually leading to the Kurdish YPG taking control on 17 July 2013.

Kurdish capture of Manajir

In their subsequent Ras al-Ayn offensive, the YPG further advanced down the Khabur River area. In a final rush in early November, they captured one village after the other. On 5 November 2013 they successfully finished their offensive by capturing ISIS fighters to fully take control of Manajir.^[3]

Battle of Manajir

The rebel fighters however weren't ready to give in. With Baggara leader Nawaf al-Bashir purportedly supporting them from his exile in Turkey, foreign fighters were joined by local Arabs and fellow tribesmen from further south.^[2]

Early in the morning of 25 January 2014, a VBIED detonated at a YPG checkpoint near Manajir, killing two Kurdish and an Arab YPG fighter. The suicide bombing was immediately followed by an attack by Islamic State fighters with T-55 tanks. While ISIS and its allies lost 23 fighters, the YPG reportedly didn't suffer any further casualties, after reinforcement units of the YPG and YPJ turned the tide. It however turned out that some of the attackers were already in the village, obviously received by local people.^[2]

Upper Khabur valley attack

On 21 February 2015, the YPG launched the Eastern al-Hasakah offensive, purging Jihadists from areas east of al-Hasakah. Two days later, the Islamic State answered with a revenge attack on dozens of villages in the Upper Khabur valley south of Tell Tamer, mostly with an ethnic Assyrian majority. In march, the Islamic State extended the attacks to the north, advancing into Kurdish-held areas around Manajir.

References

Al-Hasakah Governorate
Capital: Al-Hasakah
	Al-Hasakah District Al-Hasakah Abu Hajirat Khuatana Abu Tinah al-Alwa al-Arishah Bir al-Helou Bureij Sharqi Dashishah Gharbiyah al-Fadghami al-Fakkah Markada Ghabshah al-Ghariri al-Haddadiyah al-Hajiyah al-Hawl Al-Kharitah Khatuniyah Markada Markada Sharqiyah Qaber Shamiyah al-Sabaa wa Arbain al-Saadah Safia al-Shaddadeh al-Shaykh Hamad Sumayhan Gharbi Tell Arboush Tell Balouaah Tell Baz Tell Brak Tell Bureij Tell Damshij Tell Fuweidat Jazira Tell Goran Tell Hefyan Tell Hermez Tell Jazira Tell Jedaya Tell Jemaah Tell Kifji Tell Maghas Tell Majdal Tell Makhadah Tell Massas Tell Nasri Tell Ruman Tell Safouk Tell Sakra Tell Shamah Tell Shamiram Tell Tal Tell Talaah Tell Tamer Tell Tawil Tell Tawil Gharbi al-Tweinah Umm Ghargan Umm al-Keif Umm Madfaa
	Al-Qamishli District Al-Qamishli Amuda Jimaayah al-Manathirah al-Qahtaniyah al-Tannuriyah Tell Hamis Tell Maaruf Umm al-Fursan
	Al-Malikiyah District Al-Malikiyah al-Jawadiyah al-Muabbada Maashuq Sabaa Jafar Suwaydiyah Fawqani al-Tabaqah Tell Adas Tell Arab al-Yaarubiyah
	Ras al-Ayn District Ras al-Ayn Abu Rasin al-Darbasiyah al-Lid Dirbasiyah Mabrouka al-Manajir Tell Halaf Tell Sinan Sharqi Umm al-Dibs Dirbasiyah

Rojava articles
History	Syrian Civil War Rojava conflict History of human rights in Rojava Historic Background of Rojava History of the Kurds History of the Assyrians Archeological Tell Halaf Tell Barri Tell Brak Hamoukar Urkesh Chagar Bazar Tell Arbid Tell Leilan Carchemish Tell Taban Dūr-Katlimmu
Geography	Subdivisions Jazira Canton Kobanî Canton Afrin Canton Shahba region Towns Al-Hasakah Al-Qamishli Manbij Kobanî Afrin Ras al-Ayn Amuda Al-Malikiyah Tell Rifaat Al-Qahtaniyah Al-Shaddadah Al-Muabbada Tell Abyad Al-Sabaa wa Arbain Jandairis Al-Manajir Qabasin Kurd Mountains Khabur River
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