Reconstruction plan for eastern Damascus neighborhoods alarms residents A proposal to rebuild destroyed neighborhoods in eastern Damascus through private investment and partial compensation for property owners has angered and alarmed residents who consider it “theft” and ...

Reconstruction plan for eastern Damascus neighborhoods alarms residents

✍️ @walid-alnofal.bsky.social

“Jobar is not for sale,” said Muhammad Obeid, who is from the neighborhood. “After our homes were destroyed and we were displaced for years, we were waiting to return and be compensated—not to lose out.”

“Reconstruction plans should be a bridge towards return and stability, not an obstacle that entrenches alienation and displacement,” activist Adam al-Shami said. “Any project that does not make the return of residents its first priority…will not be accepted."

Governor Marwan said this month he would not go against the community’s wishes, while Deputy Governor Muammar Dakak told Syria Direct “the proper utilization of investments helps ensure the continued provision of local resources to serve the community.”

“They want to organize and invest, and we don’t reject that. We do reject the percentage proposed,” one source from Jobar said. “If the governorate cannot provide real compensation, it should at least take care of the infrastructure, and we will rebuild.”

“Any reconstruction process must fully restore people’s rights in accordance with transitional justice and reparation…the governorate can find solutions for this,” governance expert Mazhar Sharbaji said.

“The issue is not measured by whether it is called urban planning, but by its actual impact on the owners’ rights,” lawyer Suleiman al-Qarfan said. “These proposals strike at the essence of property rights when they result in depriving the owner of effective control.”

All those Syria Direct spoke to in eastern Damascus rejected the plan, saying partial compensation—50% for real estate plots and 30% for agricultural land and unauthorized structures—diminishes owners’ rights and transfers air rights to investors.

Damascus Governor Maher Marwan presented the plan in mid-March: a $21 billion investment project to cover 1,100 hectares in Jobar, al-Qaboun and Tishreen. Property owners would receive between 30% and 50% compensation.

Syrians from Jobar, a neighborhood on the eastern edge of Damascus, gather to break their Ramadan fast amid the ruins of buildings destroyed by Assad regime bombardment, 11/3/2026. In a picture taken from above, two parallel rows of long tables fill a street illuminated by strings of white lights and flanked by bombed-out buildings and piles of gray rubble.

🧵 A proposal to rebuild destroyed neighborhoods in eastern Damascus through private investment and partial compensation for property owners has angered and alarmed residents who consider it “theft” and disguised expropriation.

🔗 bit.ly/4cUYBX9

Denied for decades, Syria’s stateless Kurds edge towards recognition As stateless Syrian Kurds begin applying for citizenship under a recent presidential decree, hopes of restoring long-denied rights are tempered by bureaucratic hurdles and past disappointments.

Denied for decades, Syria’s stateless Kurds edge towards recognition

✍️ Afrin Muhammad

“The more flexible and broad the implementation, the more people will benefit,” said Abbas Ali Musa, a member of the rights organization Hevdesti. “Much will depend on the flexibility of the committees, and how they handle the fragile situation of families that have lived for decades as victims.”

The door is open, but challenges remain. Documents and records have been lost to years of war and displacement. Many stateless Kurds are displaced abroad, and there are no procedures for applying directly through embassies and consulates.

After an initial 30-day period to receive applications, there is no set timeline for how long processing will take. Abdullah al-Abdullah, Syria’s Director of Civil Affairs, stressed that “every Syrian Kurd residing in Syrian territory has the right to apply for citizenship.”

“In the eyes of the state, I do not exist in my own country—even though I exist,” said Atiya Muhammad Issa, 48, from Qamishli.

The 1962 Hasakah census created two categories of Syrian Kurds without citizenship: those with some identity documents became ajanib (“foreigners”) while those with no documents—or who were simply not reached by the census takers— became maktoumeen (“concealed from the registry”).

They hoped to benefit from Presidential Decree No. 13 of 2026, issued in January, which nullified the effects of a one-day census in 1962 that deprived an initial 120,000 Kurds of citizenship and stripped generations of basic rights.

Dozens of stateless Syrian Kurds stood outside Qamishli’s municipal stadium on Monday, holding stacks of identification certificates, proof of residence, school records—anything they had to support their applications to become citizens of their own country.

Assem Abdullah Hamou, 51, a stateless Syrian Kurd, holds documents he brought to support his application for citizenship as he waits outside the municipal stadium in the Hasakah city of Qamishli, 6/4/2026. Hamou has short gray hair and is wearing a dark coart and sweater as he looks down at sheets of paper in his hands.

🧵 As stateless Syrian Kurds begin applying for citizenship under a recent presidential decree, hopes of restoring long-denied rights are tempered by bureaucratic hurdles and past disappointments.

🔗 bit.ly/4edlvtT

Red lines and death threats: Freedom of expression wanes in Suwayda Under pressure and death threats, a number of journalists and activists have fled Suwayda in recent months as the space for free expression narrows in the Druze-majority southern province.

Red lines and death threats: Freedom of expression wanes in Suwayda

✍️ @walid-alnofal.bsky.social

"Free, independent media pleases nobody—not the authorities in Suwayda, and not the authorities in Damascus," said one journalist working at an outlet inside Suwayda. “We are facing a conflict of narratives that involves journalists from both sides.”

Three journalists Syria Direct spoke to said there are unofficial red lines for press coverage in Suwayda–namely a ban on criticizing al-Hijri, the factions and corruption. A fourth called this characterization “exaggerated” and said social pressure influences coverage.

“Before, we were able to work,” Sara al-Hamid (a pseudonym) said. After, “working with any outlet aligned with Damascus became a mortal threat.” She left Suwayda after being threatened and witnessing factions preventing journalists from working and breaking their equipment.

A key turning point for expression in Suwayda came in July 2025, when multiple waves of violence—including identity-based killings by government forces, tribal fighters and local Druze factions—left more than 1,700 dead. Most victims were Druze, alongside scores of Bedouins.

“Freedom of expression in Suwayda is no different from how it was during the reign of the criminal Assad regime,” one human rights activist said, pointing to “residents being displaced...leaving the country or resorting to expressing opinions through anonymous social media accounts.”

“If you dissent from the view of al-Hijri’s militias, or agree with the Damascus authorities, you are threatened with death at any moment,” said journalist Nabil al-Said (a pseudonym). “You can work as a journalist, but only if you tell al-Hijri’s narrative.”

Accusations of “treason” have increasingly been weaponized against dissenting voices in Suwayda. Sources pointed to the National Guard’s Security Office, formed from a local faction that included clerics close to Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, as playing a key role in repression.

Among them was journalist Morhaf al-Shaer, who made his way to Damascus last month after recovering from being abducted and shot five times by Suwayda’s National Guard in January. “There is no independent press in Suwayda today,” he said. “There is a single narrative."

Syrians gather to protest the humanitarian situation in Suwayda city, as the Druze-majority southern province suffered shortages of basic supplies following deadly violence in July 2025, 28/7/2025. A crowd of men and women stand holding signs and raising the Druze flag.

🧵 Under pressure and death threats, a number of journalists and activists have fled Suwayda in recent months as the space for free expression narrows in the Druze-majority southern province.

🔗 bit.ly/4sb9w3A

Why did Germany keep a report used to justify deportations to Syria a secret? Germany kept a report used to justify post-Assad deportations to Syria confidential for nearly a year before quietly releasing it last week. It appears to contain inaccuracies.

Why did Germany keep a report used to justify deportations to Syria a secret?

✍️ Cosette Molijn and @anasambri.bsky.social