Controversy as Work Crews Restore Damaged Suweida Homes Without Owner Permission

Government-affiliated work crews are accelerating restoration work on vacant homes across large areas of the northern and western countryside of Suweida, after those homes were damaged during a violent incursion by forces loyal to the transitional government in mid-July.

These works are presented as initiatives to revive life and encourage the return of residents, but according to forcibly displaced individuals, legal experts and local employees there has been a lack of consent from the property owners, ambiguity over sources of funding, and suspicions of administrative and financial violations. As restoration continues without structural assessment or documentation of previous violations, concerns are growing that this process may become a step that erases evidence and deepens issues related to housing and property rights.

Testimonies from residents and experts indicate that the fires preceding the restoration works resulted from the use of incendiary materials by the Transitional Administration’s forces, which magnified the scale of destruction to homes. Residents in the villages of Najran, Al-Dour, Al-Majdal, and Al-Khalidiyah, as well as the outskirts of Suweida city, documented the use of phosphorous compounds that produce intense ignition, white smoke, and light-coloured ash lasting for hours. Local experts also observed remnants of combustion involving sulphur-based materials with a pungent smell, along with indications of the use of C-4 plastic explosives. Several testimonies said these fires ignited during the raids conducted by the Transitional Administration’s forces, the Public Security forces, and the allied tribal fighters, leading to widespread destruction of homes and facilities and increasing the complexity of any subsequent documentation or restoration efforts.

Around 26,000 homes were slightly, partially, or completely damaged across the northern and western countryside and several neighbourhoods of Suweida city, according to preliminary figures compiled by local community-based documentation groups.

With the vast majority of the owners of these homes forcibly displaced since July, work crews affiliated with the governorate of Suweida and with the Transitional Government, began carrying out restoration works inside vacant homes whose owners have been forcibly displaced, without any prior communication or obtaining their consent. Governor Mustafa Bakour is based in the town of Al-Mazraa in western Suweida countryside. The town is empty of its residents and controlled by the Transitional Government forces.

According to The Syria Report’s local correspondent, displaced residents from the northern countryside discovered works being carried out inside their homes through video clips published by the Suweida Governorate on its Facebook page. One resident, from the town of Al-Soura Al-Kabeera, explained that his 230-square-metre home underwent partial restoration that included one room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, without receiving any notification or request for approval. He said that the appearance of Governor Mustafa Bakour inside his home in media footage occurred without prior permission, and added that the work done did not constitute genuine restoration, but rather a media photo opportunity.

Other displaced residents said that their homes had been looted and burned during the incursion, and that any subsequent intervention should begin by documenting the violations rather than covering them up. They stress that their forced absence from their villages does not give any entity the right to dispose of their property, and that what is happening creates a feeling that these homes are being managed without transparency or respect for property rights, which heightens their fear of losing control over what remains of their possessions.

The restoration operations also raise questions about funding sources, implementing parties, and spending mechanisms. Former employees in the local administration report that part of the funds allocated for these works is being spent through channels not subject to the applicable financial regulations, while relying on contractors directly connected to Governor Bakour’s office. One employee who requested anonymity stated that some contracts were executed without official agreements or clear decisions, or calls for public tenders raising concerns about the lack of transparency. In some cases, the contractor selection occurred without tenders, engineering committees, or formal damage assessments – procedures that are mandatory for any public-nature restoration project.

One of the contractors who participated in these works, confirmed that he began restoration works in public buildings in the village of Al-Mazraa before receiving additional offers from Bakour’s office to restore homes in northern countryside villages. The contractor said that the work was carried out without any contractual procedures or tenders, and that a large portion of his financial dues was delivered in cash by an employee working in the governor’s office. This testimony highlights implementation mechanisms that operate outside standard administrative and legal frameworks, reflecting the absence of oversight over contracts and spending in one of the areas most affected by destruction and violations of property rights.

A lawyer working on property cases in Suweida, explained that restoration without explicit permission from the owner directly violates Article 768 of the Syrian Civil Code, which grants the owner alone the right to use, exploit, and dispose of their property. She stressed that public authorities cannot carry out works within private properties except under specific legal frameworks requiring prior approvals – conditions that do not apply to the current situation in the northern and western countryside. She added that carrying out restoration in the absence of rightful owners may lead to erasing evidence related to looting and burning, complicating any future litigation or compensation claims.

Testimonies from displaced residents compound these concerns, as many indicate that the effects of severe burns remain visible on the walls and ceilings of their homes, and that some of these traces provide important indications of the types of materials used during the incursion. Reema, a displaced woman from the western countryside, said that her house was completely burned using highly flammable materials that left a layer of light-coloured ash and a sharp odour, and that any painting or removal of charred parts before documentation would lead to the loss of evidence that could later be used in accountability processes. She added that what is taking place on the ground is limited to removing outer damaged layers without any documentation, which threatens to conceal the violations residents experienced before their displacement.

Alongside the legal concerns, local engineers point out that the ongoing restoration works are being carried out without any structural assessment of the damage, even though a large number of homes were subjected to intense fires and partial collapses that directly affect their structural integrity. Omar, an engineer who reviewed photos and videos from the restoration sites, said that intense fires weaken concrete and cause reinforcing steel to expand beyond its structural capacity, making any superficial restoration without technical inspection hazardous to the lives of returning residents. He explained that merely repairing interior walls or damaged ceilings without addressing foundations or load-bearing elements could result in unsafe, collapse-prone dwellings, confirming that the current works do not align with basic engineering safety standards.

For many residents, the work is being conducted selectively, without regard for private ownership or transparency over funding or applied criteria, and entirely ignoring the documentation of violations that preceded the restoration. One displaced woman said that she wants to return to her home, but not after it has been restored in a way that hides the destruction, looting, and burning. She emphasised that respect for property begins with asking permission before entering, and with documentation before any attempt at reconstruction.

With no official information available about restoration plans or funding sources, and with ongoing testimonies reporting violations involving property, safety, and transparency, the situation in Suweida’s northern and western countryside remains an example of how violations intersect with the interests of controlling forces. As restoration works continue at a rapid pace, residents continue to demand the minimum of their basic rights – in particular respect for their property, obtaining explicit approval before any intervention in their homes, and ensuring documentation of the violations their homes suffered before being covered with a new layer of paint.

Under the control of the Transitional Government forces in the western and northern countryside of Suweida, and with the absence of any oversight or effective accountability mechanisms, the current restoration works take on a character that reflects the nature of governance established after the incursion where security decisions blend with the management of private property, and interventions are implemented without legal basis or transparent procedures.

Observers have noted that this behaviour is not limited to the restoration file alone, but aligns with a broader pattern of policies adopted by the controlling forces since July, threatening to turn assaults on private property into a precedent difficult to remedy later. Concerns are mounting that such practices may be repeated in other property-related issues within the governorate, further undermining housing and property rights in an area that has already paid a heavy price of destruction and displacement, and is now facing a trajectory that may reproduce violations in a new, urbanised form.

The Syria Report reached out to the press department of the Transitional Government but obtained no response.