Thomas McGee
In the last eight years of conflict in Syria, issues relating to housing, land and property (HLP) have occurred with striking prevalence across the country. For example, in a study by humanitarian actors, almost 50 per cent of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in southern Syria reported that their pre-displacement residences had been either destroyed or damaged beyond repair. 3 The intensive use of airstrikes in the US-led campaign against the Islamic State has also significantly damaged infrastructure, especially in Raqqa. 4
As the conflict in Syria has evolved, some territories have changed hands several times, creating multiple waves of displacement and return, and thus engendering complicated and intersecting HLP challenges. 5 Beyond housing and property lost as collateral damage, the Syrian government has deliberately destroyed property to punish restive populations in opposition strongholds. 6 It has also introduced a series of laws facilitating the transfer of housing from communities perceived as having supported the opposition. Moreover, it is seeking to capitalise on much of this destruction through a controversial reconstruction agenda. [1]

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