Feb 2, 2018

ALEPPO, Syria — The Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Turkish Armed Forces took hold on Feb. 23, 2017, of the city of al-Bab, located in Aleppo's northeastern countryside, during Operation Euphrates Shield. Since then, al-Bab has become a refuge for displaced Syrians from various parts of the country. The city is now home to people from different cultures and traditions, and its diversity has been manifested in a variety of economic, social, cultural and entertainment activities.

In addition to its original residents, thousands of families from various cities — including those who fled Aleppo’s eastern neighborhoods in late 2016 — presently reside in al-Bab. The displaced from parts of the country that witnessed heavy fighting and raids during offensives by the Russia-backed regime forces and by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS), also took refuge in the city. These include people from Deir ez-Zor, Abu Kamal, Mayadin, Raqqa, Palmyra, Maskanah, and other towns and villages on the banks of the Euphrates, in northern and northeastern Syria. Al-Bab is also home to hundreds of families displaced from the al-Waer neighborhood in Homs and the outskirts of Damascus.

The relative safety in areas liberated under Operation Euphrates Shield, particularly al-Bab, is a reason why the displaced have opted to move. Fleeing the siege in al-Waer, Umran Homsi arrived with his family in al-Bab in mid-2017. He said he came to al-Bab because it has become safe under Turkey’s direct protection, unlike parts of the country that are under FSA control, such as Idlib province that is still being shelled.

Homsi now works as a tailor in a small shop located on Asfour Street in the center of al-Bab. He told Al-Monitor, "I named my tailor shop Khayat Homsi [Tailor Homsi], which is the same name as my shop in al-Waer neighborhood in the city of Homs. The majority of my customers here are the displaced from al-Waer, in addition to other clients from different cities who also reside in al-Bab.”

While in al-Bab, Al-Monitor noticed that the owners of restaurants, cafes, butcheries, cellphone shops, pharmacies and grocery stores had named their shops in al-Bab after their cities, towns and villages of origin, such as Kebz al-Mayadin (Mayadin Bread) and Falafel Halab (Aleppo’s Falafel).