DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – In light of Iranian-backed factions’ monopolization of imports and trade of construction materials, 32-year-old Youssef al-Awwad, a resident from the city of Abu Kamal in Syria’s regime-held Deir ez-Zor, was forced to sell his destroyed shop after being unable to reconstruct it due to the high expenses of construction materials.
The 700,000 Syrian pounds (SYP over $200), which he saved during the past two years no longer has value in light of the increasing prices of construction and cladding, according to al-Awwad.
He was forced to sell his shop to make use of the money in light of the deteriorating living conditions in the region.
Economic mediates
Prices of construction materials have increased as officials of Iranian-backed pro-Syrian government factions monopolize trade in Deir ez-Zor, especially the trade of construction materials, according to residents.
As a result of the decreasing value of the Syrian pound and US sanctions imposed on the government and its officials, most residents of the government-held areas are witnessing increasingly deteriorating living conditions.
Iranian-backed Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba and Liwa Fatemiyoun are the most prominent groups that monopolize the trade of construction materials in the government-held areas in Deir ez-Zor and its villages.
“Recently, the two Iranian-backed factions have assigned traders close to them as economic mediators in order to deal with traders in the market and monopolize the trade of construction materials, as well as to avoid the imposed economic sanctions,” Isam al-Jasem (a pseudonym), a trader of construction materials in Abu Kamal city, told North Press.
Meanwhile, the Deir ez-Zor countryside mainly relies on Iraqi construction materials transferred through the economic mediators of those factions to Syria “to facilitate their movement through the checkpoints, routes, and crossings in both Syrian and Iraqi territory,” according to traders.
Two days ago, the US administration announced the inclusion of Iraq’s Kata’ib Hezbollah, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, and both Russia- and Syria-based companies on the sanctions list.
“Even trucks that transfer construction materials are directly owned by Iranian-backed factions and they are run by the economic mediators in order to avoid being sanctioned or monitored,” Jabar al-Ali (a pseudonym), an official in the Syrian National Defense Forces (NDF) militia told North Press.
“The trucks enter through military routes through the illegal crossing of al-Sekak with Iraq in the vicinity of Abu Kamal, where the Popular Mobilization Forces dominates from the Iraqi side and Iranian-backed Liwa Fatemiyoun from the Syrian side,” he added.
Stopped projects
“Construction in Deir ez-Zor is greatly declining as a result of the increasing price of materials used in construction and cladding amidst the deteriorating living conditions in the area,” he explained.
In light of these poor conditions and monopolization, Naser al-Abdullah, a builder in the city of Abu Kamal, and other builders have been unemployed for about three months.
Currently al-Abdullah is working in a warehouse for food products in order to secure his family’s basics.
“Most of the builders are working in restaurants, shops, and warehouses due to the stagnation in the construction work,” he elaborated.