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Scorched Earth in Syria’s Daraa al-Balad

Women walk amid the destruction in Daraa al-Balad on Saturday. (AFP)
Women walk amid the destruction in Daraa al-Balad on Saturday. (AFP)
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Scorched Earth in Syria’s Daraa al-Balad

Women walk amid the destruction in Daraa al-Balad on Saturday. (AFP)
Women walk amid the destruction in Daraa al-Balad on Saturday. (AFP)

Some people have returned to destroyed houses or scorched earth. Others returned to homes that have been stripped bare of their belongings.

This is the situation in Daraa al-Balad after a Russian-sponsored agreement led to a de-escalation of tensions between the regime and remaining opposition in southern Syria.

Despite the losses, the people have rejoiced at a major accomplishment, which is staying in their city and avoiding displacement. They have gone about removing the rubble and resuming their daily lives amid the destruction and the lingering smell of gunpowder in the air.

“The heavy shelling did not spare a thing,” “Abou Jihad” told Asharq Al-Awsat. “Look around you, houses have been leveled to the ground and entire areas are unrecognizable.”

“Yesterday, we were displaced, fighters and negotiators, today, we are builders. We have started to clean the city and houses that have been destroyed,” he continued.

“We will restore the beaty of the city and rebuild the Omari mosque and what it stands for. We regret what happened. We are a peace-loving people, who want to lead a dignified life away from the grip of the security forces or military,” he stressed.

“We have paid dearly for this in Daraa. A reality has been imposed on us. We don’t know what the coming days have in store for the city given the establishment of nine military posts around the area,” he stated.

Greatest accomplishment
A member of the central committee in Daraa told Asharq Al-Awsat that the locals managed to cling on to their lands. They have thwarted the plot to introduce demographic change in the area.

Their sons persevered against the forces of the Fourth and Sixth Divisions, as well as the Iranian militias, amid constant shelling and daily attempts to capture neighborhoods that were besieged for 73 days, he noted.

The withdrawal of Iranian militias from Daraa al-Balad on Thursday morning after a 78-day siege is the people’s greatest accomplishment, he declared.

“The negotiations carried out and decisions reached in Daraa were locally-made and not affiliated with any agenda, country or opposition,” he stressed

“The people of Daraa are no warmongers, but the conflict and siege were imposed on them,” he went on to say.

“They have managed to thwart all plots that were aimed at dragging them towards escalation and war,” he added, saying 35 people paid with their life in defending their homes.

Stench of death
Activist Raafat Abazeid told Asharq Al-Awsat that Daraa al-Balad is like a “ghost town” of rubble and destruction. “The stench of death is everywhere.”

“The people, however, have shown determination the moment they returned to their city. They rejoiced at remaining on their land and that is priceless,” he stressed.

The moment they returned, they went about cleaning the Omari mosque. They then cleared out houses and have tried their best to make them livable. Some have lost their homes and are staying with their neighbors. Others erected tents over the rubble of their homes. “This shows their attachment to their land in spite of the destruction,” he added.

A resident, “Abou Mohammed”, said life essentials such as water and electricity are non-existent in Daraa al-Balad.

The locals have resorted to transporting drinking water from irrigation wells to large tanks ahead of distributing them to houses at their own expense.

“As for electricity, it is already non-existent in Syria, so what can be expected in Daraa al-Balad, which for years has been punished by the regime?” continued “Abou Mohammed. At best, Daraa al-Balad used to receive no more than hour or two of power per day.

Now, it has no power and the people have resorted to private generators. Fuel for the generators is bought at hefty prices on the black market. Others have turned to solar power, he revealed.

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What Has Assad’s Fall Revealed about the Captagon Drug Trade in Syria?

A Syrian member of the opposition shows amphetamine pills known as Captagon hidden inside an electrical component at a warehouse where the drug was manufactured before the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government at a facility in Douma city, outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
A Syrian member of the opposition shows amphetamine pills known as Captagon hidden inside an electrical component at a warehouse where the drug was manufactured before the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government at a facility in Douma city, outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
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What Has Assad’s Fall Revealed about the Captagon Drug Trade in Syria?

A Syrian member of the opposition shows amphetamine pills known as Captagon hidden inside an electrical component at a warehouse where the drug was manufactured before the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government at a facility in Douma city, outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
A Syrian member of the opposition shows amphetamine pills known as Captagon hidden inside an electrical component at a warehouse where the drug was manufactured before the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government at a facility in Douma city, outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)

Since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, industrial-scale manufacturing facilities of Captagon have been uncovered around the country, which experts say helped flourish a $10 billion annual global trade in the highly addictive drug.

Among the locations used for manufacturing the drug were the Mazzeh air base in Damascus, a car-trading company in Latakia and a former potato chips factory on the outskirts of Damascus.

The factory that once produced the crunchy snack in the suburb of Douma under the name, Captain Corn, was seized by government forces in 2018.

"Assad’s collaborators controlled this place. After the regime fell... I came here and found it on fire," Firas al-Toot, the original owner of the factory, told The Associated Press. "They came at night and lit the drugs on fire but couldn’t burn everything."

"From here, Captagon pills emerged to kill our people," said Abu Zihab, an activist with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main group now ruling the country, as his group gave access to journalists to the site.

Syria's nearly 14-year-old civil war fragmented the country, crumbled the economy and created fertile ground for the production of the drug. Militias, warlords and the Assad government transformed Captagon from a small-scale operation run by small criminal groups into a billion-dollar industrial revenue stream.

The recent ousting of Assad has disrupted these networks and has given a closer look at its operations — revealing the workings of a war economy that sustained Assad’s power over Syria. Experts say the change in Syria might create an opportunity to dismantle the Captagon industry.

How did Syria build its Captagon empire?

Captagon was first developed in Germany in the 1960s as a prescription stimulant for conditions like narcolepsy. It was later outlawed due to heart issues and its addictive properties.

Its amphetamine-like effects made it popular in the Middle East among both elites and fighters, as it enhanced focus and reduced fatigue.

Assad's government recognized an opportunity in the cheaply manufactured drug amid Syria’s economic turmoil and the heavy sanctions imposed on it.

Captagon is produced through a simple chemical process that involves mixing amphetamine derivatives with excipients to form tablets, typically in makeshift labs.

The Captagon trade began industrializing around 2018-2019 as the Assad regime — and other armed groups in Syria -- invested in production facilities, warehouses and trafficking networks. This allowed Syria to emerge as the largest producer of Captagon globally, with some production also occurring in Lebanon.

Most seized consignments of Captagon originated from Syria, according to data by the New Lines Captagon Trade Project, an initiative of the New Lines Institute think tank.

Evidence of the Assad regime’s sponsorship of the Captagon industry is overwhelming, the report published in May said. The Security Office of the 4th Armored Division of the Syrian Arab Army, headed by Bashar al-Assad’s brother Maher oversaw operations and created a coordinated production system, the report added.

Where and how was Captagon smuggled?

Captagon was smuggled across the border using various methods, hiding Captagon in trucks, cargo shipments and goods. Some shipments are concealed in food, electronics and construction materials to evade detection.

The primary smuggling routes were Syria’s porous borders with Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, from which the drug is distributed throughout the region. Some were also shipped from Latakia port.

In Lebanon, the Captagon trade has flourished, particularly near the Syrian border and in the Bekaa Valley. Lebanese authorities struggled to curb the flow of Captagon from Syria, which analysts say was facilitated by the Hezbollah group, a key Assad ally.

Following the discovery of crates of fruit meticulously packed with bundles of the drug hidden among pomegranates and oranges, Saudi Arabia and the UAE implemented bans on Lebanese agricultural products.

Captagon has also found its way into international markets, reaching as far as Southeast Asia and parts of Europe.

How much revenue did it produce for the Assad regime?

The annual global trade in Captagon has an estimated value of $10 billion, with the ousted Assad family's annual profit reaching around $2.4 billion, according to Caroline Rose, director of the New York-based New Lines Institute Captagon Trade Project.

"Seeing the uncovering of so many industrial-scale facilities affiliated with the regime was shocking but not surprising. There was extensive evidence linking key regime-aligned cronies and Assad family members to the trade," said Rose, whose organization tracks all publicly recorded Captagon seizures and lab raids. The discovery of the facilities, she said, confirmed "the concrete relationship between Captagon and the former regime."

The exact number of factories in Syria remains unclear, but experts and HTS members estimate that there are likely hundreds spread throughout the country.

The future of Captagon in post-Assad Syria

Assad has turned Syria into "the largest Captagon factory in the world," HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa stated in a victory speech at Damascus’s Umayyad Mosque on Dec. 8. "Today, Syria is being cleansed, thanks to the grace of Almighty God."

While Assad and his circle may have been the primary beneficiaries, there is also evidence that Syrian opposition groups were involved in drug smuggling, opposition groups, local militias and organized crime networks manufactured and smuggled the drug to finance their operations, analysts say.

"Likely, we will see a short-term supply reduction in the trade, with a decline in the size and frequency of seizures as industrial-scale production is largely halted. However, criminal actors are innovative, likely seeking out new locations to engage in production and smuggling, particularly as demand levels remain stable," Rose said.

They may also "seek out alternative illicit trades to engage in instead," she said.

In addition to dismantling the Captagon trade, the country's transitional government should "establish programs for economic development that will incentivize Syrians to participate in the country’s formal, licit economic sphere," Rose said.