Ayn Issa

Ayn Issa^[2] (also Ain Issa; Arabic: عين عيسى, "Eye of Jesus"; Kurdish: Bozanê)^[3] is a town in the Tell Abyad District of Raqqa Governorate in Syria and a capital for the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. It is located halfway between the Syria–Turkey border town of Tell Abyad and the regional capital Raqqa. Through the city runs the M4 highway connecting Aleppo with the Hasakah Governorate.^[4]

Ayn Issa عين عيسى
Town
Ayn Issa nahiya within Raqqa Governorate
Ayn Issa Location in Syria
Coordinates: 36°23′7″N 38°51′34″E
Country	Syria
Governorate	Raqqa
District	Tell Abyad
Subdistrict	Ayn Issa
Government
• Type	Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria
Population  (2004 census)[1]
• Town	6,730
• Nahiyah	40,912
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
P-Code	C5905
Geocode	SY110202

Syrian civil war

In June 2015, Ayn Issa was taken over from ISIL by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia, Women's Protection Units (YPJ), and the Raqqa Revolutionaries Brigade in the course of their Tell Abyad offensive. While it was shortly recaptured by ISIL militants,^[5] it was reclaimed by the YPG in early July.^[6] On 14 October 2019, the Syrian Army entered and established joint control over Ayn Issa after an agreement with the SDF to prevent the Turkish offensive in the area.^[7][8] It became the seat of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria in September 2018.^[9] On November 8 2024 a family of 11 civilians including women and children were killed in a Turkish drone attack on Ayn Issa.^[10][11]

Ayn Issa refugee camp

Since April 2016, the Ayn Issa refugee camp on the outskirts of the town has housed approximately 9,000 refugees by July 2018, mainly Syrian Internally Displaced Persons from the governorates of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa.^[12][13]

2020–21 Ayn Issa clashes

Main article: 2020–21 Ayn Issa clashes

On 23 November 2020, clashes broke out between the SNA and SDF near Ayn Issa.^[14] On December 1, Lebanon's al-Akhbar newspaper reported that the SDF managed to ambush Turkish-backed forces, killing 30 fighters.^[15]