After the Syrian government recaptured Ghouta in 2018, it uncovered the tunnels that connected many neighborhoods in the capital that once witnessed heavy fighting between both sides. The Syrian government demolished some of these tunnels and left others to be used by Iran according to sources.

An intricate network of intertwined tunnels extends from the Jobar neighborhood to eastern Ghouta across several kilometers beneath the ground. The tunnels span along the frontlines that once existed on the M5 highway between the Ain Tarma neighborhood and the town of Zamalka.

The tunnels are spacious enough to allow the passage of individuals, goods, and even vehicles. When the opposition’s armed groups controlled the area, they used parts of the tunnels as ammunition warehouses and field hospitals.

The factions that operated there included the al-Nusra Front, which is now known as the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), in addition to the Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam) and the Faylaq al-Rahman (al-Rahman Legion), both factions are now affiliated with the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA).

These tunnels connect three towns from beneath. There is a tunnel entrance in Ain Tarma that stretches through the Madayr Jidya area to Zamalka. The tunnel there allows the passage of vehicles like cars and carts.

There is an entrance of a second tunnel that starts from the Aswaq al-Khair area and extends to the valley of Ain Tarma, which includes a meeting point with a tunnel stretching to the M5 Highway. Another tunnel starts from Zamalka near al-Adnan Mosque and connects with a tunnel that extends to the Qaboun-Berzeh connection point. It was primarily used for transporting food, medical supplies, and patients to Damascus through a meeting point in Berzeh.

The third tunnel begins in Zamalka near al-Tawba Mosque (post of the Faylaq al-Rahman faction at the time) and extends to Jobar. It was used for the transfer of ammunition and equipment vehicles to frontline armed militants in subsidiary tunnels.

The tunnels are meticulously built. The ceilings are reinforced with metal columns as they stretch. The walls are equipped with surveillance cameras and lights.

A local source told North Press that the tunnels vary in length between two and five kilometers. Moreover, smaller tunnels branch off to areas in eastern Ghouta that were once controlled by opposition groups.  

In 2018, the Syrian government forces gained control of the Jobar neighborhood and adjacent towns in eastern Ghouta following an evacuation of more than 40,000 militants of the Faylaq al-Rahman faction and civilians residing in the area.

The source pointed out that the government forces demolished and closed the subsidiary tunnels but maintained control over the three main tunnels that connect the cities. “Nobody knows anything about these tunnels as there are Iranian-backed militias present there,” a source said.

The source, who preferred to remain unnamed, stressed that even the government forces are prohibited from approaching the tunnels.

The destroyed tunnels pose a danger to the buildings overhead, according to the source.

Another source from Daraa Governorate, southern Syria, who used to live in eastern Ghouta, said that the tunnels in the middle sector of eastern Ghouta had been closed for a long time. “Recently, we found out that Iran has been using them as operation rooms and weapons and ammunition warehouses,” he said.

He emphasized that the tunnels located beneath the city of Douma are still closed and have never been used because there are no Iranian forces stationed there.

Source: The North Press