Removing Building Violations in Raqqa

The Municipality of Raqqa—or the Municipality of the People in Raqqa, as it is officially called—began a campaign on January 24 to demolish and remove dozens of homes and shops that were deemed to have been built in violation of building code.

The first phase of demolitions targeted more than 15 residential and commercial properties that had been built on state-owned land in the city’s Al-Andalus neighbourhood, as well as the area around the Hazimeh Roundabout and the Agricultural Airport Road.

Opposition forces took control of Raqqa in March 2013, before the Islamic State expelled them a year later. The city remained under ISIS control until US-led coalition forces drove them out in October 2017 with the help of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Raqqa faced heavy bombardment by the US-led coalition, completely destroying more than 40 percent of the city.

The municipality was founded in April 2017 as part of the Raqqa Civil Council, which in turn is affiliated with the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (AANES), the majority-Kurdish governing body of Syria’s northeast.

The municipality’s Office of Urban Planning is likely responsible for the current demolitions campaign. The office was established in 2020 to issue zoning plans for informally built areas, and to “improve the services and building situation in Raqqa”, according to a statement released by the municipality on January 24, 2021.

The office began operating in mid-2020, issuing zoning plans for the Al-Andalus neighbourhood. However, work on those plans was abruptly halted after the office received numerous objections from property owners. Meanwhile, building permits were no longer issued for the neighbourhood.

The municipality warned residents of Al-Andalus against building in violation code, under penalty of legal accountability. The municipality has also said that there is a noticeable rise in informal construction around the Hazimeh Roundabout, which had been slated in Raqqa’s old zoning plans as grounds for constructing an agricultural airport. All these so-called “building violations” had been constructed recently, and were demolished to preserve public property and residents’ assets, according to a decree issued by the Raqqa Civil Council.

The demolitions began after midnight, as heavy work vehicles belonging to the municipality entered the area with the protection of SDF security patrols, according to a correspondent for The Syria Report. They reportedly cordoned off the targeted areas and forced residents to leave their homes. Residents clashed with security forces during the eviction process, with some residents beaten.

The owner of one of the demolished properties told The Syria Report that the municipality’s statement was not accurate, and that not all of the demolished buildings had been constructed on publicly owned land. He claimed that the municipality also had not given prior warnings, despite some of its own observers having been present early on during the construction of some of the buildings. The homes’ occupants had also been disrespected, he added, as security forces stormed the houses and expelled the residents after midnight. The municipality has not yet provided any alternative housing for the evicted residents, nor has it taken steps to give compensation.

More than 200 properties are included on the municipality’s demolition list, according to The Syria Report’s correspondent. The property owners include both Arabs and Kurds. The properties were reportedly built by contractors, some of them close to the SDF and the Municipality.

The demand for homes is increasing in the informally built areas surrounding Raqqa, due to the cheap prices there. However, the municipality is working to prevent urban expansion, and is not granting new building permits, instead maintaining the city’s old zoning plans that were issued when Raqqa was under Syrian government control.

On January 13, 2020, the AANES’s Legislative Council in Raqqa issued a decree banning people from disposing of real estate on publicly owned property in the city since 2013. The council considered any building violation as if it had not occurred, with any legal effects and repercussions nullified. The decree was considered a prelude to the latest demolitions campaign.

Source: SY24