In North Syria, Business Hub Hopes to Drive Recovery from War

 Workers labor at a metal factory in the industrial zone of Syria's rebel-held city of Al-Bab, Syria March 10, 2022. Picture taken March 10, 2022. (Reuters)
Workers labor at a metal factory in the industrial zone of Syria's rebel-held city of Al-Bab, Syria March 10, 2022. Picture taken March 10, 2022. (Reuters)
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In North Syria, Business Hub Hopes to Drive Recovery from War

 Workers labor at a metal factory in the industrial zone of Syria's rebel-held city of Al-Bab, Syria March 10, 2022. Picture taken March 10, 2022. (Reuters)
Workers labor at a metal factory in the industrial zone of Syria's rebel-held city of Al-Bab, Syria March 10, 2022. Picture taken March 10, 2022. (Reuters)

In an industrial zone in northern Syria's opposition-held city of Al-Bab, Abu Omar al-Shihabi's smelter churns out iron bars he says can compete with any produced in Syria and beyond.

The industrial zone is an unlikely business hub. It is located on the edge of a city which was once occupied by ISIS and now sits between a Turkish border wall to the north and a frontline with Syrian government forces to the south.

But the zone, one of five in the region which is controlled by Turkey-backed opposition factions, is key to efforts to develop an economy hit by hardship and destruction during Syria's 11-year conflict.

Success could bring sorely needed jobs and opportunities, six years after Turkish troops and Syrian fighters drove ISIS from the region and prevented a Kurdish force from filling the void.

Turkey hopes that stability can encourage some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees it currently hosts to head back across the border into Syria.

Shihabi said the low wages in northern Syria and abundance of scrap metal after years of war offer big advantages to his iron smelter.

"In Syria, I can compete with the Turks with my own products," said Shihabi, who mainly sells into opposition-held territories and also into Turkey.

The industrial zone, home to about 30 factories and workshops, was established four years ago on the road north from Al-Bab, with support from Turkey.

A sign across the road which bisects the zone is written in both Arabic and Turkish, highlighting Ankara's lasting influence since its 2016 military incursion. The Turkish lira is widely used in the region and Turkish administrators help run schools and hospitals.

BUILDING SELF-RELIANCE
At the industrial zone, factories produce a range of goods including iron bars used in construction, shoes, clothes, mats, mineral water, and tehina, said businessman Omar Waki who set up the project.

"The biggest inducement (to set up operations)... is the low cost. Labor for us is cheap compared to other areas," he said.

"The average worker's wage in Turkey is $400 (a month). Here it's a quarter of that."

Northern Syria, particularly the city of Aleppo just 30 km (18 miles) to the southwest of Al-Bab, was Syria's commercial hub before 2011, when protests against President Bashar al-Assad spiraled into a war, driving many businesses across into Turkey.

Most products in the Al-Bab zone are sold within the northern opposition-held territories, although some do reach more distant markets across frontlines or borders.

Despite cheap labor costs, businesses in the industrial zone face steep challenges. The region is still vulnerable to a possible offensive by Syrian government forces, while poor transport links and rising electricity costs hamper expansion.

Shihabi's smelter is just a fraction of the size of his pre-war operation, which employed 150 people before it was hit in a 2012 air raid. Now it has just 25 workers, and production is down nearly 90%, producing just .

Abdel Khaleq Tahbash set up a factory producing floormats after fleeing bombardment in Idlib. Despite complaints about electricity costs and obstacles to selling abroad, he said he was happy to be in Al-Bab.

"I prefer to work in Syria," he said. "Without capital you can't work in Turkey, and this is my country."

Waki said security in the northwest was improving, drawing more people to invest including three Turkish companies. While the Al-Bab zone remains modest, it shows Syrian businesses are resilient, he said.

"Instead of importing from China or Turkey, we can make it ourselves. We are self-reliant."



Syria’s Al-Qusayr Celebrates Eid al-Fitr without Hezbollah for First Time in Years

People perform Eid Al-Fitr prayers in Al-Qusayr. (Sami Volunteer Team)
People perform Eid Al-Fitr prayers in Al-Qusayr. (Sami Volunteer Team)
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Syria’s Al-Qusayr Celebrates Eid al-Fitr without Hezbollah for First Time in Years

People perform Eid Al-Fitr prayers in Al-Qusayr. (Sami Volunteer Team)
People perform Eid Al-Fitr prayers in Al-Qusayr. (Sami Volunteer Team)

Amid the devastation, thousands of residents of Syria’s Al-Qusayr performed Eid Al-Fitr prayers in the northern district square—the site where the city’s first protest against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule erupted in 2011.

For the first time in Al-Qusayr’s history, Eid prayers were held in a public square. It was also the first mass gathering of residents in an open space in 13 years, following a war that destroyed 70% of the city, displaced its people, and led to its capture by Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Syrian regime forces.

Al-Qusayr, a region located near the Lebanese border, was once Hezbollah’s most significant stronghold in Syria. The group withdrew after the fall of the Syrian regime in December, but its loyalists and affiliated locals remained, along with residents of several border villages that have seen sporadic clashes in recent months.

The most intense fighting occurred in February, when Syrian forces launched a military operation that pushed them into Lebanese territory and deployed troops to seal off illegal border crossings.

Tensions flared again two weeks ago after Syrian soldiers were killed in the border region, triggering an exchange of artillery fire between the two sides.

The clashes left casualties on both ends and forced the displacement of border village residents before a ceasefire was reached with the Lebanese army.

The agreement included the closure of four illegal crossings in an effort to curb the smuggling of weapons and drugs, a trade that has flourished over the past decade under the former regime.

As soon as the regime fell, refugees from Al-Qusayr living in Lebanese camps began returning to their hometown. Hundreds arrived to find their homes completely destroyed, forcing them to set up tents beside the ruins while they rebuilt or searched for alternative housing.

The residents of Al-Qusayr resumed their communal Eid traditions after Ramadan. (Sami Volunteer Team)

The large turnout for Eid prayers underscored the scale of the return.

Journalist Ahmed al-Qasir, who recently came back, estimated that about 65% of those displaced have now returned. Before the uprising, Al-Qusayr had a population of around 150,000, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Shahin, 30, who returned in 2018, described the city as a wasteland at the time, despite some 20,000 people having already come back.

“Hezbollah, regime militias, and smugglers controlled the area. There were no real markets, just small shops. Everything was in ruins—schools, clinics, hospitals,” he said.

Residents had to travel 30 kilometers to Homs for basic necessities, enduring regime checkpoints that extorted money along the way.

With the fall of Assad’s regime and Hezbollah’s withdrawal, life in Al-Qusayr has slowly begun to return to normal. Since the start of Ramadan, markets have reopened despite widespread destruction, poverty, and hardship.

On the eve of Eid, the city’s streets buzzed with late-night shopping, Shahin noted.

“Al-Qusayr is finally regaining its role as the region’s commercial hub,” he said.

According to a survey by the Sami Volunteer Team, more than 30,000 refugees returned to Al-Qusayr and its countryside within the first month of the regime’s collapse.

That number is believed to have doubled over the past four months, and team organizers expect it to rise further once the school year ends.

Zaid Harba, a member of the 40-person volunteer group, said most returnees came from refugee camps in Lebanon, while fewer arrived from displacement camps in northern Syria.

Many families there are waiting for the academic year to conclude before arranging their return.