Iranian-backed militias in Syria are buying up real estate – report

Pro-Iranian and Iranian-backed militias are recruiting locals, buying up land and houses, and even looking for “demographic change” in areas of Syria near the Euphrates and along the corridor from the city of Deir Ezzor to Albukamal and other areas, so a report. This area is adorned with bases and facilities connected to Iran and its militias, from the Imam Ali base near Albukamal to areas along the river and further inland to the T-4 base, where Iran has assets. “The destruction is engulfing entire Syrian cities,” Al-Ain media in the Gulf said in a report on how this will affect the Syrian landscape. Accordingly, the real estate purchases are not only taking place in Deir Ezzor, but also in the direction of the city of Raqqa, which was once controlled by the IS. Deir Ezzor was besieged by IS during part of the Syrian civil war. Iran has been trying to play a bigger role in this corridor since 2019. The strategic corridor connects the Syrian regime with Iraq and also Hezbollah with pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. Missiles and weapons are flowing through this area. Militias affiliated with the IRGC, including some recruited from far-flung Afghanistan and Pakistan, have come to this area. According to the article, the militias have stepped up their recruiting efforts. The article is apparently based on a report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The report states that “on orders from Tehran, the Iranian militias have recruited young men from al-Mayadin, Albukamal and other areas in Deir Ezzor to carry out their plan”.

cnxps.cmd.push (function () {cnxps ({playerId: ’36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b’}). render (‘4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6’);});

if (window.location.pathname.indexOf (“656089”)! = -1) {document.getElementsByClassName (“divConnatix”)[0].style.display = “none”;} else if (window.location.pathname.indexOf (“/ israel-news /”)! = -1) {document.getElementsByClassName (“divConnatix”)[0].style.display = “none”; var script = document.createElement (‘script’); script.src = “https://player.anyclip.com/anyclip-widget/lre-widget/prod/v1/src/lre.js”; script.setAttribute (‘pubname’, ‘jpostcom’); script.setAttribute (‘Widgetname’, ‘0011r00001lcD1i_12258’); document.getElementsByClassName (‘divAnyClip’)[0].appendChild (script);} At least 78 properties have been bought since the beginning of July. One source “identified the places where the Iranian plan is being implemented in and around towns and villages in the Raqqa countryside; they paid the prices without bargaining. ”

This “unprecedented” expansion into areas in Deir Ezzor governorate has caught the attention of locals. According to this report, some of the locals had to flee because ownership changed. “Observers fear that personalities of non-Syrian nationalities are shopping.” This could lead to demographic change. Locals say this has already happened in Al-Mayadin and other places. “Al-Mayadin city merchants, who are directly linked to the pro-Iranian ‘Al-Abbas Brigade’ militia and operate under its command, have continued to purchase properties from residents in the eastern Ghouta regions.”

In recent times, purchases have been concentrated in the southern sector of Eastern Ghouta, particularly in Zabadin, Deir al-Asafir, Hatita al-Turkman and al-Maliha, the report said. It noted that property investors are targeting properties owned by people who fled the fighting in Syria over the past 10 years. The assumption is that the property will pass to foreigners or Shiites with ties to Iran and thus to militia networks. The militias have ties to Iran and also to pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. Members of the Shiite militia Fatemiyoun, recruited from Afghanistan, also operate here.