In 2023, Turkey continued to target areas controlled by the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (AANES) through airstrikes and artillery shelling, causing damage to homes and civilian areas and forcing residents to flee temporarily or permanently. Ankara accuses the AANES of being a front for the Democratic Union Party, the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey categorises as a terrorist organisation.

The Monitoring and Documentation Unit at North Press Media Agency reported that 711 residential and commercial sites and 21 agricultural sites in northeastern Syria were hit by Turkish shelling in 2023. The shelling focused on the towns of Darbasiyah, Qamishli, Malikiyah, Tell Tamer, Zarkan, Tell Abyad, Tell Rifaat, Manbij, Kobani, Ayn Issa and Qahtaniyah.

The Turkish shelling often targets security and military sites, checkpoints, and headquarters of service and administrative bodies affiliated with the AANES in the targeted areas. The shelling damages homes, workplaces, infrastructure and roads, and sometimes forces residents of some areas to temporarily flee for days, especially from the northern border strip towards southern towns and cities.

The years-long shelling campaign by Turkey has created a general atmosphere of fear, anxiety and insecurity, prompting many residents to consider fleeing from Syria altogether. This has led to a decrease in property prices in the targeted areas, following an increase in housing supply and a decrease in demand, human rights sources told The Syria Report.

Aside from the shelling, other factors related to the conflict with Turkey have contributed to the decline in property prices. For instance, in the city of Hassakeh, the repeated shutdowns of the Alouk water pumping station over the past five years have reduced the quantity of potable water reaching homes. This has been an additional factor encouraging residents to leave the city and move to areas with better water availability.

Conversely, the real estate market prices in the cities of Amuda and Qamishli in the Hassakeh governorate have risen due to increased demand following the mass displacement to these cities after the armed opposition took control of the cities of Tell Abyad and Ras Al-Ayn in 2019, during the Turkish military operation “Peace Spring.” At that time, most Kurds fled from these cities to the larger, predominantly Kurdish cities in the Hassakeh governorate, especially Amuda and Qamishli.

While the AANES focuses on documenting and securing funds for rehabilitating and repairing infrastructure damaged by the shelling, such as electricity and water stations and oil derivatives, it  has not formed any committees to document damage to private properties.

The social contract of the AANES, which serves as its constitution, recognises private property as inviolable. However, owners of private homes cannot file complaints with municipal councils or seek judicial recourse for compensation over damages to their properties caused by Turkish shelling. The AANES does not consider itself responsible for compensating these property owners.

Owners of partially damaged private properties bear the costs of repairs, to the extent that their financial means and the donations they receive allow. Meanwhile, many private properties that have suffered significant destruction, including homes, factories, wedding halls and artisan workshops, remain unrestored.

In the city of Darbasiyah, two homes (one of them adjacent to a military facility belonging to the Asayish internal security forces) suffered significant damage after the facility was targeted by Turkish shelling on December 23, 2023. The homeowners estimated the cost of repairs at about USD 5,000 for each house. The homeowners told The Syria Report that they received no compensation from any official entity of the AANES, whether civilian or military.

Farhan, from a border village near the city of Qamishli, was sitting with his wife at home when their kitchen was hit by an artillery shell in 2023. The family repaired the kitchen at their own expense, but fearing further shelling, they sold the house and moved to live in areas farther from the border with Turkey.

A similar situation occurred with Wana, who lived with her husband in Tell Tamer and was forced to flee to Qamishli multiple times due to the ongoing shelling between the SDF and opposition factions controlling Ras Al-Ayn. In December 2023, Wana and her husband decided to move to Qamishli and rent a house there, despite their difficult financial situation and their inability to secure stable employment in Qamishli.