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List of sovereign states>CountrySyria}}Governorates of Syria>GovernorateAleppo Governorate>AleppoDistricts of Syria>Districtal-Bab District>al-BabNahiyah>SubdistrictNahiya al-Rai>al-RaiTurkish occupation of northern Syria>Control| parts_style = paraSyrian opposition}} Syrian Interim Government| elevation_m = | population = 4,609| population_density_km2 = auto| population_as_of = 20042004 CENSUS DATA FOR NAHIYA AL-RAI>URL=HTTP://WWW.CBSSYR.SY/NEW%20WEB%20SITE/GENERAL_CENSUS/CENSUS_2004/NH/TAB02-28-2004.HTM CENTRAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS (SYRIA)>CENTRAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS ARCHIVE-DATE=2016-03-04 TITLE=2004 CENSUS DATA PUBLISHER=HUMANITARIAN DATA EXCHANGE, |name=census2004}}Eastern European Time>EET| utc_offset = +2Eastern European Summer Time>EEST| utc_offset_DST = +3| geocode = C1250| website = | official_name = }}Al-Rai (, al-Ra'i or al-Rayi; ), is a small town in northern Aleppo Governorate, northern Syria. With 4,609 inhabitants, as per the 2004 census, al-Rai is the administrative center of the sparsely populated Nahiya al-Rai. Located on the Istanbul-Baghdad Railway and close to the Turkish border, right across Elbeyli, it is however a strategically important village. The town of Akhtarin, some {{convert|15|km|sp=us}} to the southwest. Larger towns are Azaz, some {{convert|35|km|sp=us}} to the west, and Jarablus and Manbij, both some {{convert|45|km|sp=us}} to the east.Prior to the Syrian Civil War, the town was inhabited primarily by Turkmen.Günümüzde Suriye Türkmenleri {{in lang|tr}} - weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20151005153702weblink">Suriye’de Değişimin Ortaya Çıkardığı Toplum: Suriye Türkmenleri. ORSAM Rapor № 83. ORSAM – Ortadoğu Türkmenleri Programı Rapor № 14. Ankara — November 2011. Turkmens belong to the Elbegli tribe.WEB, Pürlü, Kadir, Sivaslıların yarısını ilgilendiren bir konu! İlbeyli Aşireti,weblink 13 January 2023,

Railway

The Al-Rai Railway Border Gate which had been closed since 1981, was reopened on 22 December 2009 after the 62 km line between Aleppo and Al-Rai was renewed. The opening ceremony was attended by the transport ministers of Turkey and Syria, Binali Yıldırım and Yaarub Bader.WEB, Turkey / Syria: the 3rd Railway Border Gate has opened, International Union of Railways, UIC eNews, 167,weblink 11 January 2010, 28 August 2016,

Education

{{Expand section|date=February 2021}}

Education under Turkish occupation (2016–present)

On 3 February 2021, a shoemaking and tailoring workshop for prisoners was established in collaboration between Turkish-Dutch NGO Sumud and Turkey's Ministry of Youth and Sports.WEB,weblink Shoe-making, tailoring workshop established in Syria's north, Daily Sabah, 3 February 2021, 12 February 2021, On 6 February 2021, Official Gazette of Turkey announced Turkey's plan to open a new health care vocational school and a medical faculty in Al-Rai.WEB,weblink Presidential Decision, T.C. Resmî Gazete, 6 February 2021, 11 February 2021, tr, WEB,weblink Turkey to open schools in war-torn Syria, Arab News, 8 February 2021, 11 February 2021, Syrian Foreign Ministry expressed their objection through Syria's official news agency SANA, and named the decision "a dangerous act and a flagrant violation of international law".WEB,weblink Syria rejects Turkish regime decision to open faculty and institute in al-Raei town, northern Aleppo, Syrian Arab News Agency, 7 February 2021, 11 February 2021,

Syrian Civil War

In the Syrian Civil War, al-Rai was captured by Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces and held until early February 2014, when the FSA-allies the Al-Tawhid Brigade and Conquest Brigade were assaulted by a predominantly Chechen unit of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, (ISIL) who seized the town on 3 February 2014.BOOK, Charles R. Lister, The Syrian Jihad: Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Evolution of an Insurgency, 2015, Oxford University Press, 9780190462475, {{Google books, S6eKCwAAQBAJ, 203, y, |page=203}}Since then, ISIL considered the town its main stronghold in the Aleppo countryside.NEWS, Turkish military hits Daesh position in Syria, Yeni Åžafak,weblink 11 April 2016, 28 August 2016, In the course of their Northern Aleppo offensive, FSA units captured the town twice in April 2016 and in June 2016, but both times were not able to withstand counterattacks by ISIL. The FSA recaptured the town a third time in the August 2016 Battle of al-Rai, but lost it yet another time to an ISIL counterattack later in August.WEB,weblink Isis recaptures Syrian border town al-Rai after defeat in Jarablus by Turkish-backed rebels, Keating, Fiona, 27 August 2016, International Business Times, 2016-08-28, WEB,weblink ISIS recaptures Al-Rai following massive attack, Charkatli, Izat, 27 August 2016, Al-Masdar News, en-US, 2016-08-28, 2016-08-27,weblink dead, On 3 September 2016, rebels were reported to have recaptured the town for the fourth time with the help of Turkish forces (including tanks) and to have seized several villages close by.NEWS,weblink Turkish tanks roll into Syria, opening new line of attack, Umit, Ozdal, 2016-09-04, Reuters, 2016-10-03, NEWS,weblink Syrian rebels advance on symbolic IS-held town of Dabiq, 2016-10-03, BBC News, en-GB, 2016-10-03, Syrian Turkmen Brigades' political wing Syrian Turkmen Assembly announced the relocation of its headquarters into Al-Rai on 31 December 2019, which was previously located in Istanbul, Turkey.WEB,weblink Turkmen Council moves its office into Syria, North Press Agency, 2 January 2020, 12 February 2021,

Gallery

Al-Rayi nahiyah.svg|al-Rai is the administrative center of Nahiya al-Rai of the Al-Bab DistrictÇobanbey_(Al-Rai)_Council.jpg|Al-Rai Council of Syrian Turkmen Assembly

See also

• Talal Silo, Syrian Democratic Forces commander originating from Al-Rai

References

{{Reflist|30em}}{{Cities of Syria}}{{Aleppo Governorate|Al-Bab}}{{Authority control}}