Military Housing in Damascus After the Fall of Assad: Violations and Legal Ambiguity

Some areas in Damascus have witnessed violations of housing and property rights following the fall of the Assad regime, particularly in relation to military housing, which refers to housing units allocated to officers of the Syrian army. These violations  indicate shifts in the distribution of housing linked to the military institution, amid a clear absence of official decisions determining the fate of these residences. However, these appear to be isolated cases rather than a widespread trend of displacement based on sectarian grounds.

One confirmed case involves the eviction of residents from four apartments in the officers’ buildings in the Mezzeh 86 district of Damascus, which belonged to the Fourth Division. These apartments are located within two buildings, each consisting of four floors, with eight apartments per floor. According to residents in the area, the four apartments were previously occupied by officers from the Fourth Division, three of whom were from the city of Rastan in the Homs countryside. When the 2011 uprising began, these officers defected, and the Fourth Division subsequently allocated their residences to other loyalist officers. After the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024, the original apartment owners returned and forcibly reclaimed their properties, expelling their occupants.

There are two types of military housing. The first is employment or service housing provided by the Ministry of Defence to some army personnel during their service period in exchange for a nominal rent. Upon retirement or discharge, they are required to vacate the property. The second type is social housing offered by the Military Housing Establishment (MHE), a company  affiliated with the Ministry of Defence, and made available to military personnel through a subscription system. Essentially, the MHE sells these housing units to military personnel, who pay for them in monthly installments. Once the payment is completed, the owner has the right to sell or dispose of the property. An example of this type of housing is in the Harasta suburb, formerly known as “Assad Suburb.” However, distinguishing between these two types is extremely difficult due to the limited information provided by the Ministry of Defence, the overlap between the categories, and instances of senior officers seizing buildings, selling apartments for personal profit, or renting them out.

In Damascus, a few key locations contain military housing, one of which is in Mezzeh 86, comprising six buildings. Two of these buildings are near the palace of Riyad Shalish, a prominent member of the regime, which was sealed off after the fall of the regime. Another building belonged to Dhu Al-Himma Shalish, another member of the powerful Shalish family, and was originally intended to be a clinic but was converted into residential apartments and sold for his personal benefit. Additionally, there are four buildings overlooking Officers’ Square, where the Al-Bustan Association, affiliated with Rami Makhlouf, was headquartered before later being taken over by the Al-Areen Association under Asma Al-Assad. Dhu Al-Himma and Riyad Shalish were maternal cousins of Bashar Al-Assad and held prominent positions in the Republican Guard and the MHE.

Mezzeh 86 derives its name from a battalion that belonged to the Defence Brigades militia, which was led by Rifaat Al-Assad and stationed in the area in the late 1970s. Following the dissolution of the Defence Brigades, Mezzeh 86 became a stronghold of the Fourth Division under Maher Al-Assad’s leadership. Around these military housing complexes and bases, a vast informal settlement known as Mezzeh 86 emerged. There is no confirmed information regarding land ownership in this area, though some accounts suggest that property ownership is divided among four main entities: land owned by Mezzeh residents, land appropriated for the Ministry of Defence, land expropriated for the Ministry of Agriculture, and land acquired by the Ministry of Tourism.

In the Telecommunications District, a formally planned area in Mezzeh, there are also several buildings belonging to the Fourth Division, known as Al-Zuhariyat, which were designated for officers ranked colonel and above. All residents of these buildings voluntarily vacated them immediately after the fall of the regime.

There is also housing for the Republican Guard, consisting of dozens of buildings – potentially over a hundred – located between Dummar and Qudsaya, two Damascus suburbs. Administratively, they fall under Damascus Governorate but remain under the military jurisdiction of the Republican Guard. These residences were constructed before the year 2000 by the MHE and were allocated to Republican Guard officers and non-commissioned officers. Following the fall of the regime, the area experienced a large wave of displacement, but a significant number of residents returned within days. Meanwhile, members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other factions settled in the vacant apartments or took over units previously occupied by individuals wanted by these groups.

According to residents, no official eviction orders have been issued for these residences. However, some families are considering leaving due to concerns about the future. Local sources have circulated reports suggesting that HTS and other factions recently vacated these properties, though no official confirmation has been provided.

Another significant area with military housing is Al-Sumariya, northwest of Damascus, due to its proximity to Mezzeh Military Airport. Al-Sumariya emerged in the 1980s on land expropriated from the town of Moadamiyat al-Sham (specifically, plot number 3603). Over time, the area expanded, with military housing constructed for members of the Fourth Division, Air Force Intelligence, the Republican Guard, and the Military Intelligence Directorate.

Al-Sumariya was one of the strongholds of the Defence Brigades during Rifaat Al-Assad’s era, and it was named after his son, Soumar Al-Assad. Since 2000, the Fourth Division, under Maher Al-Assad’s leadership, inherited the properties of the Defence Brigades and transformed the area into one of its most important centres, housing the division’s military and security leadership offices, including that of Major General Ghassan Bilal, who was the second-in-command of the Fourth Division.

In January, rumours and social media posts began circulating about the potential issuance of official decisions to evacuate some military residences or alter their legal status. Many current occupants lack official documents proving their ownership or rental agreements, making them vulnerable to sudden eviction – especially retired military personnel who have paid nominal rents for years without ownership guarantees. Some residents have called for the formation of legal committees to defend their rights and demand official clarification of their status, while others advocate waiting for any official decisions.

The fate of these military residences remains uncertain, with residents in a state of anticipation and concern over potential eviction orders or redistribution under new policies. At the same time, these developments reflect broader shifts in the balance of power within Damascus following the fall of the regime, raising questions about the future of properties allocated to the military and whether their current occupants will be able to retain them in the absence of clear legal safeguards.