Protests in Raqqa City Reject the Zoning Plan in the “North of the Tracks” (Shamal al-Sikka) Area

The Front Line — Raqqa

Raqqa city has witnessed protests rejecting the provincial zoning plan for the “North of the Tracks” area, amid escalating popular anger among residents who oppose the eviction and demolition orders affecting thousands of homes in the district.

Hundreds of residents from neighborhoods north of the tracks gathered at the provincial square in Raqqa, demanding an immediate halt to the demolition orders and a review of the zoning plan. They emphasized that these lands and homes have been owned by the residents for many years, rejecting their classification as “state property.”

Protesters raised banners rejecting forced displacement, warning of the recent decisions’ repercussions on thousands of families facing the threat of losing their homes without housing alternatives or clear compensation from the authorities. Participants also expressed fears of being displaced under the pretext of “reorganization,” only for the area to be turned into investment and tourism projects sold to local capital close to the authority or to foreign interests.

Local sources indicate that eviction orders could affect about 4,000 families in the North of the Tracks areas. This has sparked a wide wave of popular discontent, especially given the difficult economic and living conditions the city is enduring. As if starving the masses was not enough, the ruling Thermidorian authority is now adding forced displacement to their suffering.

Demonstrators affirmed that protests will continue in the coming days until the zoning plan is retracted, calling on official bodies to open a direct dialogue with residents to find solutions that guarantee the rights of the inhabitants and preserve their social and living stability.

What the authorities call a “zoning plan” is, in essence, nothing but an operation of forced displacement masked by a technical guise. It aims to clear the way for investment projects that benefit the elite and the wealthy, while pushing thousands of families into the unknown. The attempt to turn the neighborhoods of the poor into arenas for real estate speculation is a social crime that demands a firm stand. It exposes the hypocrisy of slogans that sing of the “public interest” while trampling on the livelihoods of the people.

The right to housing is not a privilege; it is an inherent right. No authority, regardless of its pretext, may violate it under the banner of “state property”—a banner activated only to serve commercial goals at the expense of people’s lives and dignity.To the residents of “North of the Tracks”: Your solidarity in the street is the only safety valve against this encroachment. Do not bet on the promises of those planning to demolish your homes; bet on organizing your ranks. The Thermidorian authority—which values nothing but profits—understands no language other than the language of unified, grassroots mass pressure