Rubble Scavengers Killed as Building Collapses in Jobar
Four people, including a child and a woman, were killed after the roof of a cracked building collapsed on top of them in the Damascus neighbourhood of Jobar.
The victims had been in the building to collect rubble – materials that they could sell or recycle, such as metals, wood, plastic, ceramics and other items. It is unclear whether they had caused the roof to collapse by sorting through the rubble. Rubble scavengers often use heavy sledgehammers to extract iron rebar from concrete or break apart large blocks to search beneath. The four victims were stuck under the rubble for a period of time before personnel from a nearby security checkpoint removed their bodies, according to the pro-opposition media outlet Sawt Al-Asimah.
Jobar has been enclosed by security and military checkpoints since regime forces retook the area in 2018, preventing residents who own homes in the neighbourhood from returning. However, checkpoint personnel do allow rubble scavengers to enter Jobar and sort through the debris in return for a portion of the profits.
Originally part of Eastern Ghouta, Jobar was a small village surrounded by agricultural land, similar to the Qaboun and Barzeh neighbourhoods. Jobar was annexed to Damascus in 1968, according to the zoning plan for the capital city drawn up by French architect Michel Écochard. With time, Jobar developed into an urban expansion of Damascus and became the city’s entrypoint to Eastern Ghouta. The southern ring highway separates Jobar from the Eastern Ghouta towns of Ain Tarma and Zamalka.
Jobar underwent rapid urban growth in the 1970s that engulfed much of its agricultural land. Legally classifying the remainder of the land as agricultural did not help prevent construction on the land, such mass informal housing which is prohibited on agricultural land and state property. After 2000, Jobar witnessed a new urban expansion plan within its ancient town centre, with the Damascus governorate granting construction licenses for some sites.
Jobar was under rebel control from 2012 to 2018 and became a first line of defense for opposition fighters in Eastern Ghouta. Opposition forces built many defense fortifications in the neighbourhood, especially trenches and tunnels. Stationed in Jobar, rebels posed a real threat to regime control of Damascus due to the neighbourhood’s proximity to Al-Abbasiyeen Square and Bab Touma. Jobar became the site of many intense battles and faced aerial bombardment by the regime, causing widespread damage to buildings.
Regime forces recaptured Eastern Ghouta in early 2018 and forcibly displaced the opposition to northern Syria. Jobar was among the last areas that the opposition forces surrendered. Since then, the regime has prevented people from entering Jobar as it continues a small-scale campaign to demolish buildings and remove rubble.
In September 2021, the Damascus governorate council agreed to amend the urban classification of the Jobar real estate area and some surrounding areas from a protected agricultural and residential expansion area into an area undergoing re-zoning. This amendment was named Detailed Zoning Plan No. 106 and included the real estate areas of Qaboun, Arbeen, Zamalka, Jobar, Ayn Tarma, and Masjid Al-Aqsab. The Damascus governorate refers to this broader area as the “area that overlaps Damascus and its countryside.”
The announcement in September lacked some clarity, as detailed zoning plans are not meant to be issued until after issuance of general zoning plans. According to other statements by Damascus governorate officials, what was issued in September was actually the general draft zoning plan for Jobar, which is the step that precedes the general zoning plan.
In any case, the expected next step is issuance of the new zoning plan for Jobar. According to governorate officials, the new plan will account for the structural safety of undamaged and repairable buildings, while damaged ones will be removed.