Issue of Douma’s Tunnels Arises as Returnees Seek Reconstruction

With the return of residents to Douma, in the Damascus countryside, the issue of tunnels has re-emerged as one of the matters directly linked to repair works, rubble removal, and building safety. The city, which saw the construction of an extensive tunnel network during the years of siege, is still dealing today with this legacy as a technical issue deemed non-urgent, at a time when residents’ return to damaged homes is accelerating, and the need for repairs is growing. While the municipality and the Engineers’ Syndicate assert that the tunnels do not pose a structural risk, there is still no clear data regarding their scale and spread.

Despite this official reassurance, questions about the tunnels still concern many returning residents of Douma, particularly in the absence of any published information on their locations, extent, or how they are being addressed. Residents are returning to partially damaged buildings and carrying out repairs at high costs, in a city that still has an extensive underground tunnel network. This creates a gap between officials’ reassurances and on-the-ground anxieties over the mid- and long-term structural safety of homes.

Douma is one of the largest cities in the East Ghouta area of outer Damascus and among the most densely populated. It was one of the first cities to witness widespread protests against the Assad regime in 2011, before later coming under the control of armed factions, foremost among them Jaish Al-Islam. During those years, the city was subjected to intense bombardment and a prolonged siege that led to widespread destruction of its residential neighbourhoods and severe deterioration of its infrastructure.

During the siege, armed factions came to rely on underground tunnels, whether for movement, supplies, or medical purposes. The tunnel network expanded beneath various neighbourhoods of Douma and became part of its urban fabric during the years of war, without any public documentation of its size or reach. In 2018, the armed factions’ control over the city ended under an agreement that led to their departure towards northern Syria and the entry of Assad regime forces. Since then, the tunnels have remained as one of the legacies of the previous phase, without local authorities treating the problems they generate as a priority. After the fall of the Assad regime and the return of large numbers of residents to Douma, this issue has resurfaced in a practical context linked to repair and rubble removal, rather than as an independent issue in its own right.

Douma’s tunnels vary in form and size, according to descriptions by local authorities. Some are shallow, only a few metres deep and of limited length, while others extend over long distances and connect Douma to neighbouring areas, most notably the tunnel linking the city to the nearby Barzeh area. Tunnels beneath residential neighbourhoods are being dealt with without a comprehensive survey to identify their locations or classify them according to their potential risk.

Douma mayor Samir Buaydani told The Syria Report that the tunnels do not pose a problem at the level of structural safety or infrastructure in Douma. He added that the shallow tunnels are being backfilled with earth, as they do not affect building safety. Other larger tunnels are injected with concrete, though Mr Buaydani said there are very few such tunnels, without providing specific figures on their number or extent within the city. Mr Buaydani also noted that one tunnel the opposition used during the war as a passage for ambulances and as a medical point is undergoing studies for conversion into a museum. This tunnel has no impact on the safety of surrounding buildings and infrastructure, he said.

According to Mr Buaydani, around 60,000 cubic metres of rubble were previously removed in cooperation with the local community. He added that work is currently underway to remove a further 45,000 cubic metres, with coordination between the Civil Defence and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre. Destruction in Douma ranges between 15 and 20 percent of its built-up area, the mayor said.

Karim Taama, head of the Rural Damascus branch of the Engineers’ Syndicate and a member of the Council of Notables in the city of Douma, told The Syria Report that the tunnels do not cause structural damage to buildings, as they were constructed away from building foundations. He pointed to the existence of large tunnels in the city, including one approximately five kilometres long linking Douma and Barzeh, noting that a number of tunnels had previously been dealt with, including one that lay beneath the courthouse building. He added that any case referred to the Engineers’ Syndicate relating to tunnels is addressed immediately on the basis of the condition of each tunnel, without considering tunnels to be a cause of building damage in the city.