Murak, Syria
Murak is a Syrian town located in the Suran Subdistrict in Hama District. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Murak had a population of 14,307 in the 2004 census.
Murak is the center of the country's pistachio production. Through Murak passes the highway M5 which connects Hama with Aleppo.During the Syrian Civil War the city was the sight of the Battle of Murak. By 2018 it was under the control of Hayat Tahrir al Sham and had become the sight of an important crossing point from rebel held areas into those held by the Syrian government. On August 12, 2018 the Syrian Arab Army closed that crossing in preparation for their assault on rebel held territory in the region. The Turkish government had also deployed special forces to Murak in preparation for the SAA's anticipated advance on the Idlib region The anticipated advance was averted by a de-militarization agreement signed between Russia and Turkey in September 2018. By May 2019 a group called Jaysh al-Izza was stationed in the city and was refusing to allow Russian patrols within the demilitarized zone.
On 20 August, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the rebel and Islamic factions including jihadi groups like a Hayat Tahrir al-Sham have withdrawn from Morek in the northern countryside of Hama completely. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that the Turkish troops were staying at the Turkish observation post in Morek.
