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)
TT

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.



Resentment Growing Among Hezbollah Supporters after Latest War with Israel

This picture shows the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on December 13, 2024, after Israel withdrew from the area as Lebanon's army deployed under a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah. (AFP)
This picture shows the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on December 13, 2024, after Israel withdrew from the area as Lebanon's army deployed under a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah. (AFP)
TT

Resentment Growing Among Hezbollah Supporters after Latest War with Israel

This picture shows the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on December 13, 2024, after Israel withdrew from the area as Lebanon's army deployed under a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah. (AFP)
This picture shows the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on December 13, 2024, after Israel withdrew from the area as Lebanon's army deployed under a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah. (AFP)

Resentment is growing among Hezbollah’s popular support base in wake of the latest war against Israel and as more families begin to realize the extent of the damage incurred by their properties during the conflict.

Hezbollah supporters have in private spoken about their resentment, but now some have started to speak openly about refusing to return to their homes in the southern suburb of Beirut, known as Dahiyeh, or even rebuilding their houses in the South because they fear the eruption of a new war that will leave their livelihoods in ruin yet again.

Some residents of Dahiyeh, the South and eastern Bekaa region have opted to return to homes that were not destroyed, while others have refused to return to regions that will likely be targeted again in any future war. So, they have started to seek alternatives due to a growing conviction that they no longer want to be fodder for any new conflict.

Ali Shehab, whose house in Dahiyeh was slightly damaged, has decided to seek a “safe area” where he can rent a house for the coming years.

He took the decision even though his house could be renovated swiftly. Hezbollah had inspected the house and decided against offering him temporary lodging until it can be renovated at the party’s expense.

Shehab said the party would not compensate him for the solar panels that he lost during the war.

Hezbollah had announced that it would offer compensation to families whose homes were damaged or destroyed. The party offered 12,000 dollars, divided equally in covering a year’s rent and buying necessities for the rented property.

It also asked owners of damaged houses to carry out the renovations themselves and that it would later repay them. However, the repayment process is slow, complained affected owners.

Shehab told Asharq Al-Awsat that resentment is growing among Hezbollah’s Shiite support base. The party has tried to appease them by offering these compensations, he revealed.

He predicted that the resentment will only grow if the compensations do not satisfy the people.

The resentment, he explained, is rooted in fears over the future. The prevailing sentiment is “we don’t want to rebuild our homes to lose them again in another war ten or 15 years from now. We don’t want to start over again. So families are asking themselves: do we rebuild or not? Do we return to Dahiyeh or seek a safer area?”

“Anyone who has an alternative has not and will not return to Dahiyeh,” stressed Shehab.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP)

Losses in two wars

Hussein A. told Asharq Al-Awsat that his family lost his house in Dahiyeh and in the southern border town of al-Khiam. He is now residing in Zahle and his relatives in another region. “We will not return to Dahiyeh any time soon,” he revealed.

He said that no one has approached his family about compensation.

Moreover, Hussein stressed that this was not the first time he loses his home because of a war between Hezbollah and Israel. Back in 2006, his family did not receive compensation from the party in Khiam because it refused to raise the Hezbollah flag over their homes.

“We don’t care for what they have to offer,” he stated. “My brother’s house was destroyed in the strike that assassinated Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. My house is no longer livable after a strike hit a nearby warehouse. We were told it was storing wood, but it turned out to be a Hezbollah warehouse.”

“We are not Hezbollah supporters who are forced to suffer the consequences of its decisions. We were born Shiite. At one point we used to support the party as they liberated our land, but we no longer tolerate wars,” Hussein said.

“What have we gained from the latest war? They kept on telling us that Israel will not succeed in occupying villages and yet, 20 days since the ceasefire, we haven’t been able to visit them,” he added.

Hussein said he only had one wish, that his children live in their village and “that they do not end up being displaced the way we were.”

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that he was seriously considering immigrating from Lebanon, “which is no longer ours.”

He said he wanted to raise his children in a safe environment. “We can no longer tolerate more losses,” he added, while criticizing Hezbollah for “engaging in wars that have nothing to do with us”

This picture shows a heavily damaged house in the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on December 13, 2024, after Israel withdrew from the area as Lebanon's army deployed under a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah. (AFP)

Alternatives

Political analyst Ali al-Amin said Hezbollah and its supporters in Dahiyeh, the South and the Bekaa are confronted with the massive destruction and a crisis of finding alternative housing for residents whose homes have been destroyed.

They also must deal with restoring services and removing the rubble.

On the growing resentment, he explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that that stems from the shaky ceasefire, noting that Israel continues to carry out military operations in the South.

The supporters namely want compensation for their losses so that they can rebuild and renovate their homes, while it seems that Hezbollah is not really taking any initiative to do so.

Hezbollah officials have even started to throw this responsibility on the state, raising fears that the people will be left to fend for themselves with no one to rescue them from this disaster, Amin remarked.

Furthermore, he noted that some 30 villages along the border with Israel have been completely destroyed. It remains to be seen if Israel will allow the residents to return or even rebuild their homes.

This had led to a growing sense of pessimism about the coming days, he continued.

Wealthy families in the South have sought houses in areas outside of Hezbollah’s influence, while others have opted to immigrate.

Complaints have also been made against Hezbollah over its perceived shortcomings in dealing with the people’s losses and delays in paying compensation, Amine added.