Maaret Sednaya (municipality)

Maaret Sednaya Arabic: معرة صيدنايا) is a Syrian municipality located approximately 18 kilometres northeast of Damascus. With an area of 43.3 km2, the municipality consists of three main developed areas separated by farmland: the eponymous city located just east of the municipality's geographical centre, home to over 80% of the municipality's population; the municipality's main commuter city of Badda, located nearly five kilometres to the east of Maaret Sednaya and home to the remaining urban population; and the Sednaya Military Facility, a large development near the municipality's western boundary about eight kilometres west of the main city, home to an airbase, the largest army base near Damascus, a large army training facility and an infamous military prison, and rumoured to be the site of an underground complex of nuclear missile silos. Maaret Sednaya borders the municipalities of Douma to the south, Mneen to the west, Talfita to the north and Hafer Fouqa to the east.