Khaldoun Al-Ahmad rode his motorcycle down the M5 highway connecting Damascus to Aleppo, his eyes fixed ahead as he approached his hometown of Kafr Zita. Forced to leave five years ago due to the occupation of the city by regime forces and their militias, Khaldoun hoped to catch a glimpse of his home and assess its condition, dreaming of returning from the harsh life of a tent to the warmth of his home among the olive trees.

“I left my house in 2019 when it was like a paradise, with lush greenery and fruit growing everywhere,” Khaldoun told Daraj. “Today, after five years, I came back to my neighborhood, but I couldn’t even recognize my home. Every house in the area has been reduced to rubble. The Assad regime’s militias stripped the metal roofing, ripped out floor tiles, and even took the bathroom fixtures.”

Khaldoun’s story mirrors that of thousands of homes across southern Idlib and rural Hama, areas under regime control since 2019. Before withdrawing under pressure from Syrian armed opposition forces during the Battle to Deter Aggression, these forces looted furniture and valuables, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake.

The Price of Words

Even cemeteries haven’t been spared the brutality of the Assad regime and its militias. Residents of Khan Sheikhoun discovered that the graves of loved ones in what was once known as the “Martyrs’ Cemetery” had been completely erased.

Abu Shadi, a grieving father, had longed to visit his son’s grave, his son having been killed in a Russian airstrike on Khan Sheikhoun in the summer of 2017.

“While living in Khan Sheikhoun, my wife and I used to visit my son Rashid’s grave every week,” Abu Shadi recounted. “We’d clean the weeds, place flowers on the grave, and bring basil every Eid.”

“A few days after the regime forces fled the city, I bought some flowers and set out from the Atmeh camps near the Syrian-Turkish border on my motorcycle, longing to place the flowers on my son’s grave. But when I reached Khan Sheikhoun, I couldn’t find the cemetery—it had been leveled to the ground by regime forces. My heart broke in that moment; even the grave was not spared from Bashar al-Assad’s crimes,” he added.

Journalist Iyad Abdel Jawad returned to his home in the town of Maarat Harmah, only to find four walls still standing, stripped of their roof, tiles, and all furnishings. What greeted him instead was a message scrawled on a wall: “Tiger Forces – Hassan Nasrallah’s Forces.”

Iyad had fled his home in 2019, rushing his family to safety from relentless shelling, leaving behind his camera and computer in hopes of retrieving them later. But regime forces were faster. Upon capturing the town, they confiscated his home and media equipment, destroying evidence of documented violations he had recorded. “They vandalized my home and left their signature on the walls,” Iyad said.

None of the homes in rural Hama and Idlib were spared looting, destruction, or demolition, except those used as regime and militia headquarters. The rest were razed to the ground.

During a tour of towns and cities in southern Idlib and northern Hama, Daraj cameras documented Iranian militia headquarters adorned with Iranian flags, portraits of Qassem Soleimani and Ali Khamenei, religious slogans, and books.

The looting extended beyond homes and businesses. Regime forces stripped public water tanks, schools, places of worship, and government buildings such as municipal offices, police departments, and telecommunications centers. Electrical cables and poles, telephone lines, and water pipes were uprooted and stolen.

When Will We Move From Tents to Homes?

Returning from tents to rubble is no easy feat, as Ammar Al-Duwari, a resident of Ma’arat Al-Nu’man, explains. The village lacks basic necessities, and roads are blocked by piles of debris, making them impassable.

Duwari is afraid to walk through his village or approach his home because regime forces have planted dozens of landmines along main and secondary roads in areas they withdrew from. Specialized demining teams are needed to clear these villages before residents can safely return to their long-lost homes.

“The area stretching from Saraqib in the north to Morek in the south, from Al-Hamra in the east to Al-Ghab Plain in the west, is 90 percent uninhabitable,” says human rights activist Abdelrahman Marjuh. “Regime militias have turned it into rubble, looting furniture and valuables, dismantling infrastructure, planting landmines, and leaving behind remnants of cluster bombs and other explosives.”

He adds, “The United Nations, which claims to be running early recovery programs in Syria, must prioritize these areas. They need to assess what residents require to resettle in their towns and explicitly name those responsible for these violations.”

Marjuh further criticizes regime propaganda, which over the years broadcast reports claiming reconstruction and repair in areas seized after 2019. “Those claims were debunked the moment residents returned to their homes,” he says.

Ongoing Destruction

The regime’s destruction didn’t stop with the looting and leveling of homes during its occupation of towns and cities between 2019 and 2024. In recent days, regime forces, using warplanes, rocket launchers, and artillery, have continued targeting new buildings, homes, and hospitals in Idlib and Aleppo.

According to the medical organization SAMS, Russian airstrikes hit Aleppo University Hospital on December 1, causing injuries among hospital staff, including members of SAMS. The following day, in Idlib, the same organization reported airstrikes targeting Ibn Sina Children’s Hospital and Idlib Maternity Hospital, resulting in material damage to the surrounding buildings.