Damascus countryside protests over expropriated land

Protests by residents of Qudsaya, Al-Hamah, Jaramana, Jadidat Al-Wadi, Al-Bajjaa and other areas in the Damascus countryside continued today for a second consecutive day at the Thara Company site, with protesters blocking access for its employees. They were protesting continued work on land they say was previously expropriated and allocated for the Abiat Hills and Sham View projects, calling for work to be halted until the rights of the landowners are settled and the fate of the expropriated land is clarified.

The protests and roadblocks targeting Thara Company employees followed a demonstration in the area yesterday attended by dozens of residents, who headed to sites and offices linked to the two projects. Protesters stopped machinery operating at the site and called for the expropriation decisions to be revoked or the land returned to its owners, chanting slogans including, “The people demand an end to expropriation.”

Landowners say their objection is not to real estate investment itself, but to the way land that they say was transferred from their ownership through expropriation decisions has been dealt with, before subsequently being allocated to investment and residential projects.

The protesters are calling for the return of land on which no projects have been implemented, or for a mechanism to be established that guarantees landowners’ rights and ensures their participation in addressing the issue.

ANHA correspondents quoted protesters as saying that their demands include reviewing the expropriation decisions and halting work on the disputed land until its status is resolved. They stressed that the value of the land and the returns generated from its investment should not be separated from the rights of the original owners.

The protests come as work continues on the Abiat Hills project in Qudsaya suburb, which was launched by Saudi-based Abiat Company in partnership with the General Housing Establishment and under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing.

The project covers an area of approximately 380,000 square meters and includes more than 2,000 housing units, according to official data.

The protests also coincide with the Sham View project, launched by Saudi-based Thara Company in partnership with the General Housing Establishment and under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing. The project is located between Qudsaya suburb and the Dummar Project and covers an area of 178 hectares, comprising thousands of residential, commercial and service units.

The Ministry of Public Works and Housing has presented the two projects as part of an expansion of real estate partnerships and investments, as well as reconstruction efforts.

Despite the ongoing protests, no government comment has been issued on the protests held on September 26 and 27, nor has there been any announcement of an investigation or a review of the ownership of the disputed land.

Similarly, according to information available for verification, neither Abiat nor Thara has so far issued a recent statement directly addressing the landowners’ protests or clarifying its position on demands to return the land or settle the owners’ rights.

The absence of a detailed official clarification regarding ownership of the disputed land has raised questions among both protesters and subscribers to the two projects, particularly as real estate work continues and thousands of subscribers remain involved in the subscription and allocation stages.

Abiat Company previously announced the Abiat Hills project as an integrated residential complex. Its official platform indicates that the project is scheduled to be delivered in three phases over four years and is being developed in partnership with the General Housing Establishment under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing.

Residents are currently calling for the expropriated land in the Damascus countryside to be reviewed, including clarification of the legal basis under which it was allocated to investment projects, as well as guarantees for the rights of its owners before work on the land proceeds.

As the protests continue, the ownership of the expropriated land and the rights of its owners remain the main point of contention between the protesters and the parties involved in the projects, pending a clear government position on the fate of the land and the mechanism for addressing the landowners’ demands.

ANHA