Bedouin Encroachments Continue on Agricultural Land in Lattakia

The Lattakia governorate remains in a state of tension, with ongoing violations and instances of sectarian violence, despite the interim government’s Ministry of Defence having declared the end of its military campaign there in mid-March. For the past two months, southern rural Lattakia has witnessed widespread encroachments on homes and property, following the entrenchment of extremist Salafi factions in some villages, which led to the displacement of residents and the abandonment of their homes and farmland. As a result of this displacement, Bedouin tribes from Rural Aleppo have moved into the area, seizing vacant houses and using the land as grazing grounds for their herds.

Abu Sakhr, a truck driver, told The Syria Report that the owners of these herds belong to Bedouin tribes displaced during the war years from the Syrian badia to the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib. These tribes were displaced due to drought and the theft or killing of their livestock by the various armed groups that vied for control over the badia. In the final years of the Assad regime, some of these herders turned to leasing pastureland – particularly in the Turkmen Mountains in northern Lattakia – as those areas lay on the frontlines between opposition and regime forces, and many landowners preferred to lease them for grazing due to the safety risks involved.

Abu Sakhr said that in the months following the fall of the Assad regime, he personally transported herds belonging to these tribes from rural Aleppo to the Syrian coast. He added that he knows other drivers who did the same. These herders found that they could now access fertile grazing land in southern rural Lattakia “for free,” as Abu Sakhr put it.

Most Bedouin groups consist of families, each made up of five to 10 people. Each family tends several hundred goats. They reside in the vacant homes and let their herds graze freely in the agricultural land surrounding the villages. These groups are armed and, reportedly, do not hesitate to use violence against landowners who object to overgrazing.

In the village of Mashqita, north of the Lattakia governorate, a family of five farmers was killed in late May after they tried to stop armed Bedouins from letting their livestock graze on the family’s farmland. Despite repeated complaints from residents, security forces have taken no deterrent action, prompting many farmers to avoid confrontation and accept the situation, despite the direct harm to their livelihoods. 

One farmer told The Syria Report that he dismantled his irrigation system, choosing to leave his land unharvested rather than suffer the fate of the murdered family. Several villagers agreed that there has been no response from the public security forces, despite repeated complaints, while the newly arrived Bedouins have issued direct threats to anyone who attempts to resist them.

The land in these villages is primarily planted with olive and citrus trees, irrigated via extensive systems and well cared for, particularly with regard to ploughing and weeding. This makes the trees themselves a target for the livestock, most of which are goats. Even the nurseries of saplings for these trees have become food for the animals. Farmers fear that grazing livestock compacts the topsoil, hardening it and causing long-term damage.

In the village of Al-Mukhtariyah, in southern rural Lattakia, the presence of extremist factions led to the complete displacement of the population. After the residents fled, incoming Bedouin groups seized the vacant homes. They also appropriated crops from surrounding agricultural land and converted large areas into pastures for their herds, all without any intervention from the responsible authorities.

In the village of Al-Bahluliyah, in eastern Lattakia, one farmer reported a response from the public security forces to his complaint. He confirmed that patrols had, on several occasions, expelled Bedouin groups from the village’s land. However, he said it was only a matter of time before the herders succeeded in infiltrating the village again. He added that he feared Al-Bahluliyah would soon suffer the same fate as the surrounding villages.

These incidents are not confined to the three mentioned villages but reflect a recurring pattern across much of southern rural Lattakia. The violations are carried out by incoming Bedouin groups who have taken advantage of the residents’ displacement to settle in abandoned homes and farmland. These acts do not occur within the context of direct military operations, but rather amid a lack of accountability by the official  authorities and a systematic disregard for housing, land, and property rights.