The demolition and removal of buildings damaged by the February 6, 2023 earthquake is still ongoing in the city of Jandares, located in the Afrin region of northwestern rural Aleppo and controlled by the opposition’s Syrian Interim Government (SIG). Jandares suffered near-total destruction due to the earthquake, with approximately 800 people killed by the total collapse of 278 buildings and partial collapse of 1,100 buildings.

Legal challenges related to property ownership and documentation, as well as technical engineering difficulties in demolishing structurally unsound and unrepairable buildings and clearing the rubble have led to delays in the demolition process. This process requires the reparation of destroyed roads and service facility repairs in the city, which have not yet fully recovered from the earthquake’s impact.

AbdulRazzaq Al-Khatib, a volunteer engineer and chief of the Community Resilience Enhancement Programme at the Civil Defence, also known as White Helmets,  told The Syria Report that the local council-led demolitions prioritise buildings within the urban area of cities and towns that pose an immediate threat to residents’ lives. Afterwards, they move on to buildings further from urban centres or those posing a lesser threat.

The local council in Jandares announced on its Facebook page on July 4 that its demolition and removal committee completed the demolition of building No. 3 in alley No. 205 in the old neighbourhood, which began on July 2. This building was severely damaged by the earthquake.

The demolition and removal committee includes three licensed engineers from the Aleppo branch of the Free Engineers Syndicate. The demolition was carried out based on the local council decision No. 34 issued on June 9, to ensure public safety. Additionally, on June 12, the committee demolished building No. 122 on Yalanqouz Street in the SalahEddin neighbourhood, based on the local council decision No. 24 issued on May 7.

According to Mr Khatib, there are still around 15 damaged buildings in the city, with five awaiting legal approval for demolition and 10 awaiting local council procedures. To date, the White Helmets teams have demolished 31 buildings, one mosque, one minaret, and one high water tank in Jandares.

The demolition and removal of damaged buildings involves a series of technical and legal procedures, according to a Syria Report correspondent. The first step is the sensory inspection and structural safety assessment of the damaged buildings, carried out by the comprehensive survey project committees. The Aleppo branch of the Free Engineers Syndicate launched the comprehensive survey project on February 16, 2023, which was undertaken by 27 committees comprising 64 engineers from the syndicate. These committees completed the comprehensive survey on July 15, 2023 and subsequently issued engineering reports recommending the demolition of buildings deemed severely damaged and at risk of collapse. These reports were referred to the public safety committees formed after the earthquake, which are affiliated with the councils of Jandares, Afrin, and Azaz in rural Aleppo.

The public safety committees then submitted their review of the reports to the local councils, which publish lists of buildings scheduled for demolition and allow owners to file objections within 72 hours. If an objection is filed with ownership documents, the local council assigns a specialised engineering committee to re-inspect the building. If the demolition decision is upheld, the owner can, at their own expense, request an external licensed engineering committee from the Engineers Syndicate to re-evaluate the structural safety of the building. If there is a disagreement between the committee reports, the case can be taken to court for resolution.

Once approved, building owners are notified to vacate the premises if inhabited, and neighbouring building owners are also notified for temporary evacuation to prevent damage during the demolition. The local council then forwards the demolition order to the demolition and removal committee, which supervises the operation carried out by the White Helmets teams, accompanied by the civil police.