The Syrian regime is bulldozing former rebel-held neighbourhoods in Damascus under the guise of mine clearance to make space for a “new Syria” of upmarket new building developments and pristine gardens.
An investigation by the Guardian, Lighthouse Reports, Syrian Investigative Reporting for Accountability Journalism (Siraj) and Rozana Radio has analysed the almost wholesale demolition of Qaboun, a Damascus suburb, one of many neighbourhoods in the capital that is being cleared and redeveloped beyond recognition after former residents have either been displaced by fighting or become refugees abroad.
Qaboun, a suburb of Damascus that for years resisted the Assad regime, had been emptied of people but was still standing when Syrian forces seized it in 2017. Since then videos and satellite imagery obtained by the Guardian and its investigation partners show Qaboun has paid a heavy price for resisting, with the Syrian military using highly destructive methods to wipe out the entire neighbourhood, justifying the levelling of residential homes as a de-mining exercise.
