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Chemical spraying damages 4,892 dunams of farmland in Quneitra
Chemical spraying along the ceasefire line in Syria’s Quneitra province affected 4,892 dunams of pasture, winter crops and orchards. The Quneitra Directorate of Agriculture said 255 farmers suffered losses and that the destruction of pastures had increased livestock farming costs.
Agricultural land and pastures around the ceasefire line in Quneitra, southwestern Syria, were damaged by chemical spraying. According to data from the Quneitra Directorate of Agriculture, the total affected area reached 4,892 dunams.
Pastures and winter crops damaged
An official at the Quneitra Directorate of Agriculture said the substance sprayed by unmanned agricultural vehicles was a herbicide used to destroy wild plants. The spraying damaged 3,729 dunams of pasture, 1,023 dunams of winter-crop fields, and 140 dunams of orchards and fruit-bearing trees.
The official said field inspections found that vegetation had been completely destroyed in most of the sprayed pasture and winter-crop areas, while damage to olive trees remained limited. The damage affected 255 farmers in Quneitra.
Farmer questions the purpose of the operation
Quneitra farmer Isam Abdi, who lives in the countryside, said large quantities of chemicals had been sprayed on land near the ceasefire line. Abdi argued that the operation was intended to prevent farmers from using their land and force residents of the border area to migrate.
Abdi said the spraying was not limited to a few plots of land but covered a large portion of the region’s agricultural areas. He said agricultural aircraft entered the area and sprayed large quantities of chemicals, adding that some assessments described the operation as an effort to keep the area open.
Villagers faced difficulties returning
Abdi said residents of the villages of Bir Ajam and Bureka had been unable to return to their homes because of the siege imposed by Bashar Assad’s administration approximately 10 years ago. He said that before the war, the two villages were among the main tourist destinations in the Quneitra countryside because of their lush landscape and clean air.
Abdi said Bureka had previously been known as Syria’s cleanest village and had a sign at its entrance banning smoking and the sale of cigarettes. He said the hills surrounding the two villages had been covered with trees and vegetation before the war.
Israeli forces’ activity in the area
Abdi argued that Israeli forces had also entered the area during Bashar Assad’s administration, citing efforts to prevent infiltrations and monitor the border. He said the forces had burned wild weeds and vegetation. Israeli patrols entered Bir Ajam and Bureka several times a day and occasionally set up temporary checkpoints to search homes, he said.
According to Abdi, some villagers returned to the area after Bashar Assad’s administration ended on December 8, 2024. However, life in the villages later became difficult again because of Israeli military activity and new security concerns.
Abdi alleged that Israeli forces now entered the two villages once a week and had built earth embankments inside Syrian territory that crossed the ceasefire line. He said these practices had led more people to leave the villages and that there were concerns about a decline in the border area’s population and economic activity.
Spraying increases livestock farming costs
An official from the Quneitra Directorate of Agriculture said the destruction of pastures had caused major losses in the livestock sector. Livestock breeders who lost their natural grazing areas had been forced to buy feed, increasing production costs and compelling some of them to sell part of their herds.
The Quneitra Directorate of Agriculture is conducting field surveys through its agricultural advisory units to determine the extent of the damage. A comprehensive assessment of the total losses is planned once the inspections are complete.
The reportedly damaged areas include the villages of Razzaniyah, Batamiyah, Qataniyah, West Bir Ajam, Mualleqa, Sayda al-Hanut, Asha, Ruweihid, Asbah, Qudna, Jubbata al-Khashab, Ofaniyah and Hurriya.
Military activity in southern Syria
In recent months, Israeli forces have carried out operations in southern Syria involving raids, searches, detentions and military checkpoints. This activity increased after Israel declared that the 1974 ceasefire agreement had collapsed following the end of Bashar Assad’s administration and established control over the buffer zone in Syria.
Repeated incursions into the area have taken place as Israel expanded its military presence in the buffer zone. Farmers in Quneitra view the spraying operation as a continuation of these developments.
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