Babna (, also spelled Babanna or Bab Ana) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the al-Haffah District, located northeast of Latakia and north of al-Haffah city. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Babna had a population of 802 in the 2004 census.. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Latakia Governorate. Its inhabitants are Sunni Muslims.
History Babna was recorded in Ottoman tax registers in 1519 and 1547 as part of the Sahyun district and was assessed 620 dirhams in taxes. From the early 19th century, during Ottoman rule (1517–1918), until 1924, during French Mandatory rule (1923–1946), Babna had been the capital of the Sahyun kaza (district). The French transferred this administrative role to nearby al-Haffah. Prior to its demotion, Babna had around 2,000 inhabitants, including most of the major landlords of its hinterland, a large mosque, an administrative court, a seray (government house), and a busy souk (bazaar). Afterward, it rapidly declined in population, with its notables and their clients moving to the cities of Latakia and Jableh. Today, it is a small village. The old mosque and some of the large villas of its former inhabitants remained as of the 1990s. In 1994, its population was 711.
During the Syrian civil war, in June 2012, there were heavy clashes between rebels and government forces in Babna, al-Haffah and surrounding communities.Heavy fighting erupts in Syria's Latakia province. Reuters. 2012-06-05. In April 2022, residents or returnees to Babna began applying for permits to rebuild or repair homes damaged in the village during the fighting. Subscription Begins for Renovation of Houses Damaged by Terrorism in the Countryside of Al-Haffeh, Lattakia. Syria Times. 2012-06-05.
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