RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – Each year in February, hundreds of Syrians risk their lives in the vast Syrian Desert, which is rich in high-quality truffles. The late winter season is largely seen as an opportunity to earn a good income, due to the high prices paid for the desert delicacy, despite the threats of landmines and Islamic State (ISIS) presence.
Syria’s desert truffles are sold at high prices. At the start of the season, a kilogram will go for $40, later dropping to $10, at its lowest.
In a country battered by 12 years of war and a series of crushing economic crises, truffles are a good way to supplement meager incomes. Some traders buy high-quality truffles and export them to neighboring Iraq and Lebanon, while others smuggle them to rich Gulf countries through Jordan.
A dangerous job
However, truffle-hunting season can easily have deadly ends, as the Syrian Desert is fraught with dangers, such as the presence of extremists and left-over landmines.
Since 2017, hundreds of truffle hunters have gone missing under mysterious circumstances, some of whom were killed by militants or mines, while others were kidnapped. The fate of many is still unknown.
The most serious attack against truffle hunters was carried out in February of this year, when about 65 workers, including six military personnel, were shot down in the Dbayat area, south of Sukhnah, in the Desert of Palmyra. Most of the victims were from the tribes of Amour and Bani Khaled.
On March 1, six people were killed and 40 others were injured by a blast from an old ISIS mine. The victims had been searching for truffles in the village of Kabajib, south of Deir ez-Zor.
ISIS has been blamed for most if not all of these attacks, despite the fact that the region is also home to pro-Iranian factions since they expelled the terrorist group in 2017.
ISIS remnants in Syria mostly retreated to hideouts in the desert, and from time to time carry out attacks against these Iranian-backed factions.
Since February, 139 people – 120 of them civilians – have been killed by ISIS attacks targeting truffle hunters or by mines left by the group, says the Syrian Observatory of Human Right (SOHR).
Monopolizing truffles
Residents living near the Syrian Desert, which is rich in high-quality truffles, cannot comb the entire area due to the existing risks – mainly pro-Iranian militias, as well as leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Truffles are monopolized by some influential figures affiliated with the Iranian militias. Residents tend to work as day laborers for brokers affiliated with the IRGC.
The Syrian Desert covers nearly half of Syria, and is distributed over the governorates of Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Rif Dimashq, Suwayda and Palmyra.
Iranian-backed militias and government forces control large areas of the Syrian Desert and the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, which constitutes a source of concern, as it is the site of intensive operations by ISIS sleeper cells, which stand accused of killing truffles hunters.
Ahmad al-Ahmad, a pseudonym for a relative of one of the people killed in a massacre at Dbayat denies ISIS’ connection to the incident, and attributes it to the Liwa Fatemiyoun, an Afghan Shia militia connected to the IRGC.
The victims worked as daily laborers for Muhanna al-Sweif, a man affiliated with the IRGC and government forces. He collects truffles from laborers to sell them in various regions of the Syrian interior.
Al-Ahmad confirmed that Liwa Fatemiyoun were behind the massacre, in which two of his brothers were killed. He adds that a dispute took place a few days before the incident, between a commander in the IRGC and a leader of Liwa Fatemiyoun, over control of the Dbayat area. The IRGC later took control of it.
The IRGC assigned some truffle hunters, accompanied by six of its members, to guard the area. Liwa Fatemiyoun attacked the workers and killed them in retribution, and attributed the killings to ISIS.
ISIS accused of killings
Since the Iranian-backed militias took control of the Sukhnah desert and Palmyra, the region witnessed more than three massacres against shepherds in 2021 and 2022.
Eyewitnesses from the town of Sukhnah confirmed that Liwa Fatemiyoun were behind the massacres. In addition to the massacres, they arrested everyone who accused them of doing so. Reportedly, they sent agents into the civilian population to find out who was accusing them.
ISIS usually claims responsibility for any operations carried out by its militants through its media outlets, but it did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack on the truffle hunters.
The southwestern desert of Deir ez-Zor is divided into sections, some of which are controlled by the pro-government National Defense Forces (NDF), such as al-Masrab and al-Shumitiyeh. Large sums of money are paid by truffle dealers to leaders of the NDF, in return for their protection and to facilitate access for their workers to the desert in search for truffles.
The Ayyash desert and the surrounding areas are controlled by pro-Iranian militias, who do not allow the residents to enter the desert, as it is also home to a number of military sites, unless bribes are paid. Truffle hunters cannot move freely inside the desert because of mines.
Protector is accused
For days, more than ten truffle hunters have been lost without a trace in the Ayyash desert. Aziz al-Hamed, a pseudonym for a source from the town, holds Iranian militias responsible.
According to the source, the incident occurred after a dispute erupted between the residents of the town of Ayyash and members of the Fourth Division of the Syrian government forces, when the locals expelled their members. The source said that they had not noticed the presence of the “terrorist group” since 2017.
As for the extent of ISIS’s influence in the desert, Ghanem Ali, a pseudonym for a young man from Sukhnah, said that the group has no headquarters or fixed positions in the desert, which stretches from Homs to Deir ez-Zor. However, it has intensified its attacks against Iranian-backed militias.
The source added that he was an eyewitness to more than two ISIS attacks against the positions of Iranian-backed militias in the Sukhnah desert as he was collecting truffles in the desert.
“ISIS militants drive 4WD cars and motorcycles, often camouflaging and flying the Syrian flag on their vehicles before the attack,” he said.
ISIS militants stopped him more than twice in the desert while he collected truffles. He said, “they cover their faces, but their accent suggests they are from Sukhnah or the surrounding areas. They do not kill civilians, except those who deal with Iranian-backed militias and government forces.”