Assad regime’s property rights violations complicate return of displaced Syrians

ANKARA (AA) – The Bashar al-Assad regime’s practice of leasing out crop fields in Hama and Idlib through so-called auctions without the consent of displaced landowners is “illegal and unacceptable” and hinders the voluntary return of Syrian refugees, according to experts.

Millions of Syrians have been displaced during the civil war due to violent attacks on opposition-controlled areas by Assad regime forces and Iranian-backed militia groups with the support of Russia.

An Assad regime law required that all citizens submit their property ownership claims in person within a month, warning that unclaimed properties could be confiscated.

The regime started the practice in rural areas of Idlib and Hama.

Property owners’ requests to transfer the use of the properties to people they want or give power of attorney are rejected.

In a recent report, the Syrian Network for Human Rights underlined that the regime aims to seize 570,000 acres of lands in the suburbs of Idlib and Hama through three separate public auctions.

According to the UNHCR refugee agency, during the decade-plus civil war, 6.6 million Syrians had to leave the country, which before 2011 had a population of around 22-23 million.

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad argued that the doors are open to those who want to return to Syria, and that the regime’s repentance laws facilitated this.

Many international organizations and non-governmental organizations, particularly the UN and the EU, call for the Assad regime to provide the necessary conditions for the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of Syrians.