More than two years after dozens of homes were demolished in the al-Diwaniyah al-Jawwaniyah neighborhood of Damascus, former residents say they are still waiting for fair compensation or the alternative housing they were promised. Their dispute resurfaced after the Damascus Governorate granted a new license allowing four additional floors to be added to a real-estate project on regulatory plot No. 36 — despite ongoing objections from displaced families.
The case centers on a project owned by businessman Mohammad Khair al-Halabi in the Adawi–Insha’at area. Residents began receiving eviction and demolition notices in 2022 and 2023, following legal amendments requiring owners of licensed plots to begin construction or risk losing their permits. Documents reviewed for this investigation refer variously to 32, 41, or 47 housing units, indicating that dozens of families were affected.
One of them, Jihad Barakat, says he rejected a cash offer of 25 million Syrian pounds and instead demanded alternative housing inside Damascus, as stipulated in the administrative decision governing the demolitions. He was later allocated an apartment in the Tabbaleh–Ain Terma area, but says the unit was severely damaged and uninhabitable. After further procedures, he says he was told security approval could not be issued because two of his sons were wanted by the former Syrian regime for evading compulsory military service. His allocation was then cancelled, and he was classified as an “abstainer” — a term Damascus Governorate uses for people who did not complete the compensation or alternative-housing process within the legal deadline.
Several affected residents reject that classification. They say they did not refuse alternative housing in principle, but objected to the location, legal status, condition, or specifications of the units offered. Some argue that the label effectively turned a dispute over housing rights and compensation into a closed administrative file.
Today, Barakat lives in a rented home in Damascus, paying around two million old Syrian pounds a month — roughly $150 — a sum he describes as beyond his means as a construction worker earning daily wages.
A License Issued Despite Unresolved Claims
The dispute escalated after Damascus Governorate issued Building Completion License No. 39 on July 16, 2025, allowing al-Halabi to complete the project and add four new floors. The license was granted months after the fall of the Assad regime and roughly two years after Barakat’s home was demolished. For residents, the decision raised a central question: How could additional construction rights be granted while compensation claims and objections remained unresolved?
Documents reviewed for this investigation show that the certified regulatory plan for the plot allowed only a basement, a ground floor, and three additional floors. However, internal memoranda from Damascus Governorate recommended approving four extra floors based on Decision No. 7 M.D. of 2020, which permits additional planning advantages in cases where existing occupations obstruct urban-planning implementation.
Legal experts argue that Decision No. 7 M.D. may not apply to plot No. 36. The decision concerns unbuilt and unlicensed plots, while this plot had been licensed since 1989 and renewed under License No. 225/1 in 2024. Residents also documented that the property was not vacant land but contained existing homes and structures before the demolitions.
Legal Controversies and Procedural Gaps
The legal dispute extends to Legislative Decree No. 5 of 1982, which governs amendments to regulatory plans, building setbacks, permitted heights, and floor numbers. Under the decree, such amendments must be publicly announced, displayed by the administrative authority, opened to objections for 30 days, reviewed by a regional technical committee, and formally decided upon before implementation.
Lawyer Nabil Hussein says Decision No. 7 M.D. conflicts with Decree No. 5 unless the decree’s procedural requirements — including public notice and an opportunity for objections — are followed. A document obtained by the investigation shows that Damascus Governorate’s own Directorate of Urban Planning and Regulation stressed the need to apply Decree No. 5 before approving any increase in floors. Yet days later, the Complaints and Grievances Committee recommended approval and instructed the planning directorate to complete licensing procedures.
Another potential legal obstacle is a 2023 circular from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers suspending amendments related to increasing the number of floors. That circular was not cancelled until June 2026 — nearly a year after License No. 39 was issued. Damascus Governorate officials argued that applying the circular literally would obstruct reconstruction, while legal specialists countered that a premiership circular carries greater force than a local administrative decision and remains binding until formally cancelled.
Later documents show that a technical committee was formed in June 2025 to examine amendments to the plot’s building specifications before License No. 39 was issued. The official amendment to the setback and specification plan was not approved until February 1, 2026, through Decision No. 61 M.T., which cited Decree No. 5. Legal experts questioned whether later procedures could cure earlier defects. Hussein argued that, under settled State Council jurisprudence, a decision issued without legal basis is void and cannot be revived by subsequent action.
Damascus planning official Mahmoud Hilal reportedly acknowledged — in an audio recording reviewed by the investigation team — that later procedures and decisions were intended to remedy an earlier error in the file. That admission complicates the official claim that the license followed a normal regulatory process.
The Investor’s Response
Anas al-Halabi, son of project owner Mohammad Khair al-Halabi, denied wrongdoing. He said his father compensated around 50 families and followed all legal procedures, including notarized settlements. He showed investigators a release document belonging to Faisal Mohammad Sweid, who confirmed he left voluntarily in 2023, signed the release without coercion, and chose financial compensation over an apartment in Ain Terma so he could rent a home inside Damascus.
Al-Halabi argued that some residents are now seeking additional financial gains to which they are not entitled. He said responsibility for evictions lies with the governorate under Article 46 of Urban Planning Law No. 9 of 1974. He also rejected claims that damaged or uninhabitable apartments were offered, saying Damascus Governorate would not accept donated apartments without inspecting them and confirming their legal and technical compliance.
Regarding Barakat’s case, al-Halabi denied that the security status of Barakat’s sons had any bearing on the housing transfer. He said the process did not require prior security approval and cited a 2022 administrative decision allowing a notarized declaration to substitute temporarily when obstacles prevent immediate completion of transfer procedures.
A Mediation Committee Under Scrutiny
The dispute has also drawn in a neighbourhood committee formed by Damascus Governorate to mediate among residents, the administration, and the investor. Some residents say the committee failed to hear all affected families and reviewed only a limited number of cases. Others say it relied heavily on the neighborhood mukhtar without involving independent legal or technical experts, undermining confidence in its neutrality.
One proposed solution, according to Barakat, involved offering some residents alternative housing in Barzeh. The proposal was later withdrawn after one affected resident objected to the legal status of the properties, saying their ownership rested on a court ruling rather than final title deeds. Residents say the file was then frozen without alternatives being offered.
From Housing Dispute to Cybercrime Litigation
As residents increasingly turned to social media to publicize their claims, the dispute moved into the courts. A page called “Displaced People of al-Diwaniyah” began publishing documents, testimonies, and demands related to the project. Mohammad Khair al-Halabi later filed a case before the Cybercrime Court based on a cybercrime unit report dated November 17, 2025, under the heading of “online threats.” Court documents reviewed by the investigation also refer to accusations of electronic threat, insult, and defamation.
Residents say the resort to cybercrime litigation has deepened pressure on people who insist they are only demanding compensation, alternative housing, or a review of the license. Other documents show that the Adawi neighborhood committee proposed that Damascus Governorate contact the State Cases Administration and legal-affairs authorities to file defamation cases against people accused of insulting the governorate, the governor, or the committee online.
A Dispute Larger Than Four Floors
Damascus Governorate maintains that License No. 39 is part of an effort to complete a project stalled for years, and says remaining cases are legally classified as abstainers because they failed to complete procedures within the prescribed deadline. It also says it is prepared to implement any future judicial rulings.
Affected residents see the matter differently. For them, the issue is not limited to four additional floors. It encompasses the entire chain of decisions: eviction, demolition, compensation, alternative housing, administrative classification, licensing, and the granting of new planning privileges before their claims were resolved.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
