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Private Properties Converted to Rubble Dumps in Darayya

19-11-2024/in HLP, News /by Rand Shamaa

In recent months, the debris from homes destroyed in previous combat operations in Darayya, a suburb of Damascus, have been relocated to designated sites within the city. Some of these sites previously housed residential buildings destroyed during the war between 2012 and 2016, while others were agricultural lands. In both cases, property owners were not consulted before their lands were repurposed as debris dumps.

Darayya witnessed peaceful opposition to the regime at the start of 2011 before falling under the control of armed opposition forces in 2012. The city endured a severe siege and intense shelling by regime forces, culminating in 2016 with the forced displacement of its entire population and widespread destruction. Subsequently, the Fourth Division, which controls the city, allowed limited returns under strict prior security approvals.

One of the primary areas converted into a debris dump is the Khalij area, adjacent to the Mazzeh military airport. Debris from neighbouring districts has been relocated here. The area suffered extensive destruction during the battles in Darayya. Khalij, an informal settlement northeast of Darayya, became a defensive line for regime forces in 2012, resulting in the demolition of all its structures. The city’s zoning plan, issued by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing in April 2018, considered the Khalij area empty and designated it as an empty land near the airport.

Photos shared by Darayya residents in a private Facebook group show trucks unloading debris in the Khalij area. Another photo depicts other trucks near large debris piles. Hussein, a resident, told The Syria Report that he was aware his home in Khalij had been destroyed during the conflict, and expressed despair over losing the chance to access his home’s ruins, as the entire area has become a major debris collection site.

Khalij has become a central debris dump, but private properties within the city, particularly unused lands in residential clusters, have also been repurposed. For instance, Widad’s family owns agricultural land west of the city’s “Construction Societies” area near the railway. Widad said that her family land is now a dump for debris collected from nearby buildings. The Construction Society site comprises licensed multi-storey buildings in a zoned area that suffered only minor damage during the war, allowing partial return of Internally Displaced People (IDP)Ps and refugees after renovations and the obtention of security approvals.

Similarly, Abu Ahmad, who owns agricultural land north of the city entrance, complained about his property being used as a dump without his consent. He noted that a private company is dumping debris extracted from the city on his and neighbouring lands.

Some debris removal operations in Darayya are managed by Noor Obeid Company, owned by Mohammed Sawan, a resident of the neighbouring city of Moadamiyeh known for his close ties with leaders of the Fourth Division controlling the area. The company’s board chairman, Mohammad Khair Al-Halabi, stated in a televised interview on the state-run Al-Mahaliya channel on July 31, that his company plays an active role in reconstruction by demolishing unsafe buildings and removing debris as part of a “solidarity initiative to support the local community,” approved by the Rural Damascus Governorate Council. Mr Halabi highlighted coordination with the Public Safety Committee of the Rural Damascus governorate but did not clarify whether the company had formal permissions for demolition and debris removal. He mentioned the company’s use of heavy machinery such as bulldozers, demolition equipment, and trucks.

The company focuses on moving debris to areas surrounding the city and other sites inside it, The Syria Report’s correspondent noted. However, during the summer of 2024, it also demolished some buildings in the Construction Societies under the pretext of structural unsafety. Local residents argued these buildings were only partially damaged and could have been repaired, but they were not structurally unsound. Amid difficulties in verifying accurate information, rumours have spread that the company targets structurally intact homes owned by absentee residents to extract and recycle iron from the debris.

Residents’ concerns prompted Rural Damascus Governor Ahmad Ibrahim Khalil to reassure them during a meeting with Darayya community leaders at the end of September. He stated that no damaged building would be demolished without inspection by a committee formed by the governorate and the Engineers Syndicate, to assess its condition and ensure it cannot be restored.

Darayya Building Demolished as Part of Film Project

21-05-2024/in HLP, News /by Rand Shamaa

In the spring of 2023, a building in Darayya in Rural Damascus, was rigged with explosives and demolished during the filming of scenes for an artistic project directed by Syrian film director Najdat Ismail Anzour. The building, which had five floors, was built in 2010 and was permitted within the city’s zoning plans. It was situated in the zoned and licensed residential area of Al-Jamiat Al-Insha’iya, near the Al-Samah bin Malik Al-Khaulani Mosque.

Mr Anzour, who was also a member of the Syrian parliament representing Aleppo governorate from 2016 to 2020, served as acting speaker of the parliament for a period in 2017. He has contributed to presenting the Syrian regime’s narrative through a large collection of films and dramas.

Darayya witnessed peaceful anti-regime protests starting in early 2011. In 2012, the city fell under the control of armed opposition forces. Due to its proximity to the Mazzeh military airport, Darayya was subjected to a severe siege by regime forces and intense bombing campaigns, which culminated in 2016 with the forced displacement of all its residents and the destruction of large parts of the city. Subsequently, the Fourth Armoured Division, which controls the city, allowed partial and conditional return of residents with prior security approval.

Although the opposition had seized the Al-Jamiat Al-Insha’iya area during their control of Darayya, the area remained largely intact. This was partly due to its distance from the front lines and its modern architectural design, built according to Syrian Arab Building Code and safety standards. Despite not being destroyed, all the residences in this area now require rehabilitation and removal of rubble due to neglect, limited clashes, and looting following the regime forces’ recapture of the city.

A correspondent for The Syria Report stated that the building was hit by a mortar shell early in the regime’s military campaign, causing minor damage to its facade. Apart from that, the building sustained no significant damage during the war, according to testimonies from former fighters who were stationed in the area. However, aerial images from Google Maps now show a gap in the area where the building once stood, indicating the rubble from the building that was demolished by Mr Anzour.

According to the correspondent, the production and public relations managers for the film submitted images of the Al-Jamiat Al-Insha’iya area to Rural Damascus governorate, showing existing damage to obtain permission to use the area as a filming location. During the filming, the five-storey building was blown up and reduced to rubble. The Syria Report’s correspondent could not confirm if the demolition was authorised by the governorate or which military entity carried it out.

Mahmoud, a displaced person now living in rural Idlib, owned an apartment in the building. He bought it at the end of 2010 for nearly SYP 1 million (around USD 20,000 at the time) and has a notarised sale contract. Mahmoud could not transfer the apartment ownership to his name in the Land Record due to the outbreak of the 2011 uprising, Darayya falling out of regime control, and the subsequent disruption of official institutions.

In 2020, Mahmoud tried to sell his apartment, but the offers he received were not encouraging. He decided to wait, hoping to renovate the apartment and sell it at a better price. However, the complete destruction of the building in 2023, which Mahmoud heard about from relatives still in Darayya, dashed his hopes.

Mr Anzour previously filmed scenes for his series “Under the Sky of the Homeland” in areas near the front lines in Darayya in the spring of 2013 while the opposition controlled it. In 2019, he also filmed scenes for his short film “Jouri” in Darayya’s destroyed and deserted neighbourhoods.

During the filming of his series “Moons in a Dark Night” in 2021, the crew chose locations in the cities of Kafr Zita and Al-Lataminah in northern Hama, and Khan Sheikhoun in southern Idlib, as filming sites. They enlisted the help of forces from the 25th Special Mission Forces Division, led by Brigadier General Suheil Al-Hassan, nicknamed “The Tiger.” During the filming of the series, live ammunition was used to shell homes that had been empty since 2019 due to the forced displacement of their inhabitants.

However, the first time Mr Anzour resorted to demolishing an intact multi-storey building for filming scenes was in the spring of 2023, when the building in the Al-Jamiat Al-Insha’iya area of Darayya was blown up. The Syria Report’s correspondent was unable to determine the name of the film or series that included scenes of the building’s demolition. Mr Anzour’s most recent work was the film “The Broken Cross,” which was released in cinemas in August 2023 and is a documentary about the displacement of Christians from Idlib by the Turkistan Islamic Party.

According to testimonies obtained by The Syria Report, none of the apartment owners or the original owner of the building received any compensation for its demolition. The original owner of the demolished building managed to extract some of the iron from the rubble and sold it to a local building materials trader. At the end of 2023, the original building owner distributed symbolic amounts of money to some of the apartment owners, with some receiving up to SYP 1.5 million (approximately USD 115).

Earthquake Victims Fund to Add New Category for Support Eligibility

20-02-2024/in HLP, News /by Rand Shamaa

In recent days, the Board of Directors of the National Fund for Supporting Earthquake Victims reiterated its intention to add a third category, known as category C, eligible for support to compensate for their real estate losses.

The National Fund for Supporting Earthquake Victims was established by Legislative Decree No. 7 of 2023, aiming to provide financial support to help survivors overcome physical, material, or moral damage incurred by the February 6 earthquake. The Fund is part of Syria’s People First national action plan for the quake aftermath and will operate for three years. During this period, the Fund’s management is required to disburse the proceeds to the eligible victims.

According to its executive instructions, the support programme provided by the Fund includes compensation for owners of buildings destroyed at the moment of the earthquake on February 6 or in the aftershock that occurred on February 20, divided into two categories: Category A for destroyed properties located within licensed buildings in a zoned area, with owners being compensated by the Fund with SYP 160 million for rebuilding.

Category B pertains to unlicensed properties and buildings, whether in a zoned area or not. The owners are entitled to apply for housing within the government housing projects for earthquake victims constructed by the General Housing Establishment (GHE). These beneficiaries receive financial support of SYP 40 million paid directly by the Fund to the GHE, with the possibility of obtaining a loan from the Real Estate Bank under Decree No. 3 of 2023, equivalent to the remaining amount of the housing unit’s value. Decree No. 3 of 2023 provides earthquake victims with tax exemptions, some of which relate to their completely or partially demolished properties.

The new C category, expected to be added soon to the list of those eligible for support from the Fund, encompasses owners of properties that were destroyed after the earthquake or are to be demolished based on decisions made by the governorates due to the structural unsafety of these properties and the impossibility of reinforcing them. The C category includes owners of licensed properties located in zoned areas and unlicensed ones in both zoned and unzoned areas.

The first mention of the third category C was during a meeting of the Fund’s board of directors on December 17, 2023. This was reiterated during the board’s first meeting in 2024 on February 4, coinciding with the anniversary of the earthquake disaster. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Hussein Arnous, with members including the Ministers of Public Works and Housing, Local Administration and Environment, the Governors of Lattakia and Aleppo, and Firas Kallas, the General Director of the Fund’s board of directors.

At the latest meeting, members confirmed that work is ongoing to develop mechanisms and criteria to set up the third category within the Fund’s database without specifying a final date for beginning to receive applications according to these criteria. No final figures were released during the meeting regarding the number of damaged properties that have been or are expected to be demolished, which could qualify their owners to apply for support under category C. Furthermore, no reliable data leaked regarding the value of the support allocated for this category of victims nor the conditions for support.

The meeting on February 4 also presented the Fund’s accomplishments over the past year, including its contribution to damage assessment, building evaluations, and the creation of a database collected from support applicants and other official entities’ operation rooms.

In all cases, the number of victims the Fund has agreed to support is relatively modest, primarily due to the difficulty many victims face in proving property ownership. According to its officials, the registered individuals whom the Fund has agreed to support number 1,378 victims across three governorates: Lattakia, Aleppo, and Hama. Of these, 841 individuals are from Category A and 537 from Category B. A total of SYP 156 billion were allocated to support both categories through the Fund, and financial support has so far been provided to 381 victims, amounting to SYP 20 billion. Only 52 victims have received construction permits to rebuild their collapsed homes.

Although the number of buildings that collapsed due to the earthquake in both Aleppo and Lattakia governorate is almost equal, with an average of 50 fully collapsed buildings each, Lattakia’s share of the funds earmarked by the Fund is SYP 116 billion, of which SYP 16 billion have been distributed to 312 victims from both categories. Meanwhile, Aleppo’s share did not exceed SYP 34 billion, with about SYP 4 billion of it distributed to 57 victims from both categories. While the share of Hama governorate did not exceed SYR 6 billion, but it was not disclosed what amount had been distributed so far.

Housing for Earthquake Survivors in Aleppo to be Built on Land Formerly Inhabited by IDPs

01-08-2023/in HLP, News /by Rand Shamaa

Recent weeks have seen government housing projects announced as part of the long-term third phase of the National Action Plan to address the earthquake aftermath (dubbed “People First”), which the Council of Ministers declared on February 15 and approved a month later.

In addition to providing accommodation for earthquake survivors, these projects aim to rezone and rebuild some informal settlements in east Aleppo, including Al-Maasrania suburb.

Suhail Abdul Latif, the Minister of Public Works and Housing, inspected progress on government housing for eligible earthquake victims on June 3. A week later, Prime Minister Hussein Arnous was briefed on the project, which consists of four buildings comprising 120 flats, each ranging in size from 65 to 90 square metres, with a total floor area of 10,000 square metres, at a total estimated cost of SYP 18.6 billion. According to official announcements last June, the project is about 28 percent completed. The Military Construction Implementation Establishment, a part of the Ministry of Defence, is carrying it out.

A source in the Aleppo City Council told The Syria Report that the government would build the housing project for the earthquake victims on the ruins of unlicensed buildings partially or entirely damaged in combat. The buildings, located near Sayyida Zeinab Street and the Paint Factory in Al-Maasrania, had been previously demolished by the City Council in March and April 2021. At the time, the City Council carried out a demolition campaign targeting 50 buildings, most of whose owners had been forcibly displaced to opposition-held areas in northwestern Syria.

However, the City council did not announce at the time about these demolitions, which were part of a beautification plan to upgrade roads, sanitation and water networks in the suburb. The project involved demolishing unlicensed buildings partially or entirely damaged in combat when the opposition-controlled east Aleppo between 2012 and 2016. The City Council refused to grant renovation permits for the partially damaged buildings because they were in areas of mass unlicensed construction.

It remains unclear whether the earthquake victims’ housing project will be built on the same parcel of the land previously seized in Al-Maasrania for the benefit of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, where a youth housing project has been ongoing since 2002.

Al-Maasrania is located on the Aleppo-Raqqa highway near Aleppo International Airport. Initially, the suburb consisted of agricultural lands where construction was prohibited, and which were owned by the Sabouni, Benqisli, and Jabli families from Aleppo. However, informal settlements began to appear in the area in 1971, inhabited mainly by people who migrated to Aleppo city from rural areas. Many were employees in government institutions, ministries, police departments and the military. Since the 1970s, these newcomers would buy small plots of land and build unlicensed homes. It became customary for buyers to file lawsuits against the sellers to verify the sales, through which they obtain a court ruling confirming the transaction – the only document proving their ownership of the land. Meanwhile, the Directorate of Cadastral Affairs refused to document such sales, rejecting the recognition of its de facto subdivision and the existence of construction on it.

In 1982, the state confiscated agricultural lands in Al-Maasrania close to Aleppo International Airport, including 36 properties that it seized only partially. Nevertheless, the process of unlicensed construction on the partially seized plots continued. These properties extended from the Scientific Research facility to the east, formerly known as the Paint Factory neighbourhood, to the Sayyida Zeinab Mosque neighbourhood to the south and to the west in the Shulba neighbourhood. The City Council considered the entire Al-Maasrania neighbourhood an area of collective unlicensed construction. In 2002, ownership of the 36 partially seized plots was transferred to the General Housing Establishment, which launched a youth housing project to build 4,000 residential flats on a 68-hectare area. Of these flats, 215 were allocated as paid alternative housing for those who had been notified that their homes would be demolished in the project zone.

Then in 2007, the Aleppo City Council demolished 50 unlicensed houses in the youth housing project area. Law enforcement surrounded the area, assaulting those who tried to halt the demolition of their homes. The City Council promised that evicted residents would be given priority in subscribing to the paid alternative housing in the project area. However, by 2010, only a small portion of the entire project had been completed, much like all social housing projects in Syria.

Al-Maasrania became a dangerous area after 2012 due to its proximity to the airport. It was subject to air strikes by the regime until 2016, resulting in widespread devastation. In December 2016, all residents were displaced outside of Aleppo city. Then, on December 20, 2020, the General Housing Establishment cancelled the subscriptions of those who had not paid their required instalments in more than a year, essentially removing forcibly displaced people.

Aleppo to Provide Temporary Shelters for Residents of Building at Risk of Collapse

17-01-2023/in HLP, News /by Rand Shamaa

Two temporary housing buildings have been completed in Aleppo’s Masaken Hanano district and will house residents of homes at risk of collapse, the governor of Aleppo told the state-owned Tishreen newspaper in early January.

The units are part of a project–slated for completion by the end of 2023–that the Aleppo City Council launched in 2020 to construct 10 residences containing 224 apartments in Masaken Hanano, in Aleppo’s eastern neighbourhoods, a source on the council told The Syria Report. The council owns the units.

However, the units were not fully allocated for residents whose homes are at risk, unlike what the governor said. According to the city council source, the council will not distribute them as alternative housing but rather as temporary shelters for emergency or urgent cases. For example, people facing sudden eviction from their homes due to imminent collapse will be allowed to stay in the Masaken Hanano housing units for a renewable six-month period, during which time they must search for other housing.

Unconfirmed rumours suggest that the 10 housing units project was built on the site of buildings that were destroyed by regime airstrikes during the period of opposition control over east Aleppo in 2012-2016. Thos destroyed buildings are said to have been owned by residents who were forcibly displaced from the area.

The city council plans to use the units to house some residents of the informal Al-Haydariyeh neighbourhood, which is now the site of a real estate development zone, the council source said. These residents will only be allowed to live in the units temporarily, until the housing units allocated to them are completed–which in turn will not be free of charge, as residents have to buy it.

Under Real Estate Development and Investment Law No. 15 of 2008, a real estate development zone may handle informal settlements, no matter the size of the latter. An administrative body subjecting an area to Law No. 15 may expropriate privately owned real estate located within that area in accordance with the Expropriation Law. In cases like this, the administrative body must allocate a portion of the residential plots it builds to sell to the owners of the real estate expropriated from that zone.

According to the website of the General Commission for Real Estate Development and Investment, the Aleppo City Council established the real estate development zone in Al-Haydariyeh in 2010. The 118-hectare zone was meant to “upgrade” the area, which contained unlicensed constructed buildings. The area is fully expropriated by the state, and all the real estate within it are included in the general zoning plan for Aleppo city, which was approved in 2004.

Beyond the housing project in Masaken Hanano, the city council has a number of other units in the neighbourhood, as well as in Al-Sukkari and Al-Mashhad neighbourhoods that can be used as temporary shelters. Such buildings are owned by people who were forcibly displaced to opposition-held areas. They were partially damaged, though the city council rehabilitated a number of them in 2021-2022 and they now house families who were evacuated from at-risk homes in Al-Saliheen, Al-Fardous, Al-Maadi, Al-Maysar, Qadhi Askar and other neighbourhoods.

In December 2022, the city council began demolishing some severely damaged and uninhabitable buildings in various parts of east Aleppo. The head of the city council said on November 9, 2022 that evacuations had begun for some 1,500 buildings at risk of collapse so that they could be demolished. He added that an action plan was needed to evacuate and find alternative housing for those residents, as a sizable portion of those buildings are still inhabited.

For those forced to vacate their damaged, at-risk homes, temporary housing is not easy to come by. The city council requires that applicants meet a complex set of conditions before being granted such housing. One person who was evacuated from their home in Al-Saliheen neighbourhood told The Syria Report that the city council refused to grant them the temporary housing usually given to people in his situation because “he owns a car.” The justification wasn’t clear but it could be that the council considers a car-owner as being relatively well-off and hence not needing support. Other people said that wasta, or personal connections, were needed to obtain such housing, or payment of bribes to city council officials.