ALEPPO, Syria — The local council of al-Bab in the Euphrates Shield area in Aleppo's countryside signed an agreement on June 4 with Turkey's Harran University to open a campus in the city. On June 6, Harran University Vice Rector Ali Sariisik and a member of the teaching staff Abdulkadir Aydin visited al-Bab's local council and checked out the premises of the new campus.

Fawzi al-Sayeh, the director of the educational bureau at al-Bab's local council, told Al-Monitor, "The implementation of the agreement signed between the local council and Harran University began on June 7. Under this agreement, the local council provided the building, formerly the city's preaching school. We started working on repairing the building and we should be done by the end of June. The process of painting and repairing damaged doors, windows and floors is nearly over. We will receive support from the Turkish government to secure the necessary equipment and teaching materials."

The preaching school is an Islamic religious school that teaches students to become preachers and imams in mosques. The school, however, shut down after the Free Syrian Army (FSA) took over al-Bab in 2012. Since then, the school was transformed into a military headquarters, first used by the FSA and later by the Islamic State (IS) from early 2014 until the group was expelled from the city in 2017. Sayeh said the building was partially damaged by the shelling and needed restoration.

He added, "Al-Bab's local council will also be responsible for providing free accommodation for non-resident students. In return, the university would offer educational services to students in the Euphrates Shield area free of charge."