Daraa

Daraa (Arabic: دَرْعَا, romanized: Darʿā) is a city in southwestern Syria. It is about 13 km (8.1 mi) north of the border with Jordan. It is the capital of Daraa Governorate. Daraa had a population of 97,969 in 2004.^[1] The people of Daraa are mainly Sunni Muslims.

The city dates back to the Canaanites. It was mentioned in Egyptian hieroglyphs at the time of the Pharaoh Thutmose III between 1490 and 1436 BC. It was known called as Atharaa. It was later mentioned in the Old Testament as Edrei. In 614, the city was sacked by the Sassanid Persians.

On 25 April 2011, the Syrian military launched a large operation in Daraa on protesters. More than 1,000 people were arrested and more than 244 people were killed.

References

↑ General Census of Population and Housing 2004 Archived 2012-07-23 at Archive.today. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Daraa Governorate. (in Arabic)

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[CBS-1] General Census of Population and Housing 2004 Archived 2012-07-23 at Archive.today. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Daraa Governorate. (in Arabic)

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