1 day ago
Syria’s Mezzeh Airport Redevelopment Draws Grave, Land Rights Concerns
Syria wants to turn the old Mezzeh military airport into a small airport for private jets.
The plan is meant to attract investment and support redevelopment.
Human rights groups say the site may contain graves of people who died in detention.
They worry that construction could damage remains and evidence.
Documents show that executions were carried out or planned at the airport during the Assad era.
Local residents also say the airport was built on land taken from private owners.
They want to be included in decisions and compensated for their land.
Syrian authorities said the project would consider legal and social issues, but did not specifically address the graves or land claims.
The debate reflects Syria’s struggle to rebuild while dealing with abuses and property disputes from the past.
Syria plans to convert Damascus’s former Mezzeh military airport for private and executive aviation.
Rights groups say suspected mass graves and evidence of executions may be threatened by construction.
Documents indicate Air Force Intelligence approved Mezzeh as an execution site in 2012.
Residents say airport land was expropriated from hundreds of private owners without compensation.
Authorities have not responded directly to questions about the suspected graves or land claims.
- Who
- Syria’s civil aviation authorities, rights groups, local residents, and families of people missing from Assad-era detention facilities.
- What
- Authorities are preparing to convert Mezzeh military airport into a facility for private and executive aviation.
- Where
- Mezzeh airport in Damascus, on land associated with Moadamiya municipality.
- When
- The plans were reported in September; Syria Justice and Accountability Centre sent a warning letter on September 8.
- Why
- The project is intended to support investment and redevelop state assets, but opponents fear it could disturb suspected graves, destroy evidence, and override private land claims.
Redevelopment and Investment
Rights and Accountability
Airport conversion
Redevelopment and Investment
Supporters of the plan see the project as a way to attract investment, redevelop state assets, and add private aviation capacity in Damascus.
Rights and Accountability
Critics say construction should not proceed until the site’s history, suspected graves, and evidence are properly investigated and protected.
Treatment of suspected graves
Redevelopment and Investment
The civil aviation authority said the refurbishment would take account of legal and social issues, though it did not specifically mention the suspected graves.
Rights and Accountability
The Syria Justice and Accountability Centre and the Syria Prisons Museum said excavation and rubble removal could damage human remains and evidence needed to identify victims.
Ownership of airport land
Redevelopment and Investment
The authorities are proceeding with plans to redevelop the airport facilities, while the developer has not been identified.
Rights and Accountability
Residents say land was taken from hundreds of private owners without compensation and that they should participate in negotiations and receive their lawful share.
Key facts
- Planned use
- Private and executive aviation, complementing Damascus International Airport
- Airport area
- 2.76 square kilometers, or about 1.1 square miles
- Suspected graves
- Syria Justice and Accountability Centre identified two suspected grave sites inside the airport
- Reported deaths
- The group said more than 1,150 detainees died at Mezzeh, including through executions, torture, or maltreatment
- Historical role
- Mezzeh housed Air Force Intelligence facilities and detention centers under Bashar al-Assad and Hafez’s rule
- Land dispute
- Land records indicate the airport was built on property belonging to hundreds of private citizens
- Official response
- The civil aviation authority said refurbishment would consider relevant legal and social issues, without specifically addressing graves or land rights
Quotes
Amer Matar
Founder of the Syria Prisons Museum, a Germany-based organization documenting detention facilities.
“To construct a business airport on a site that may contain mass graves, without a thorough prior investigation, without site protection, without searching for the missing and their remains, and without preserving evidence, is an act of extreme recklessness and disregard.”
theprint.in
“We welcome investment, but we should be sitting at the table and discussing our share with investors, not the state. We have a documented right to this land.”
theprint.in
Sources
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