At the start of 2026, as control lines shifted in areas east of the Euphrates River, the scale of one of Syria’s largest nonconventional military projects in recent years began to emerge.
While Qamishli and al-Hasakah (northeastern Syria) remain under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) amid complex security arrangements, the Syrian government’s recent capture of parts of southern al-Hasakah countryside, along the al-Shaddadi and Markada axis, and of the eastern countryside, including al-Hol, Tel Hamis, and Tel Brak, reaching the outskirts of al-Yarubiyah (all in al-Hasakah governorate, northeastern Syria), has revealed a vast reinforced-concrete tunnel network built underground over several years.
A specialist engineer described the network as “parallel cities.” It was not used merely as wartime shelters, but as a large-scale military project that drained local economic resources. Today, it is viewed as a direct threat to infrastructure and agricultural activity in al-Hasakah countryside, historically considered Syria’s breadbasket.
Digging geography, maps beneath wheat fields
In villages surrounding towns in eastern al-Hasakah countryside, it became clear the tunnels were not dug at random. They were designed as integrated lines for defense and supply. In flat terrain, tunnels were excavated at depths of up to 12 meters to protect them from airstrikes and drones.
In the southern countryside, particularly around al-Shaddadi, the tunnels appear to have served broader logistical purposes. Corridors were found linking oil fields to former command centers, and were designed to allow motorcycles and modified small cars to pass through, enabling the movement of ammunition beyond aerial surveillance.
According to military technicians, the total length of these corridors in the rural areas recently captured by the Syrian government is estimated at tens of kilometers. They include concealed access points camouflaged inside abandoned civilian homes or livestock farms.
Residents’ testimonies, living on a ticking time bomb
Enab Baladi spoke with several residents of villages that government forces entered recently, who described years of forced labor and silent fear.
Abu Rashid (52), from a village near the al-Jabsa oil fields (al-Hasakah governorate, northeastern Syria), said, “For years we saw trucks carrying cement and steel entering closed military areas, and we thought they were building barracks. After the withdrawal, we discovered a huge tunnel running under my home and my barn. The walls started cracking in mid 2025, and when we went to officials of the Autonomous Administration at the time, they said drought was the reason. Now it turns out the ground is hollowed out, and we fear houses could collapse at any moment.”
He added that his farmland was also damaged: “The tunnel cut through groundwater pathways that used to feed the artesian well.”
Ahmed (31), a pseudonym, a resident of al-Hasakah city who worked on digging the tunnels out of economic need, described the project in more detail. “Work began at sunset and lasted until dawn, and we were transported in closed buses. Cement was poured very quickly, and chemical materials were used to strengthen the clay soil and prevent water seepage.”
He added, “I was paid about 600,000 Syrian pounds per week, around $60, but today I suffer from chronic shortness of breath because of drilling dust in unventilated spaces. We knew we were creating dangerous voids, but we had no way to object.”
A steep cost underground
The project’s scale raises questions about its cost. Building one kilometer of tunnels with similar reinforced-concrete specifications is estimated at between $450,000 and $600,000.
The funds spent on tunnels in southern and eastern al-Hasakah countryside alone would have been enough to rehabilitate the governorate’s electricity network, or build dozens of schools and hospitals that those areas lack.
The SDF relied mainly on oil revenues from fields such as al-Omar (Deir Ezzor governorate, eastern Syria) and al-Jabsa to finance this military infrastructure, at the expense of local development and services.
Engineering and environmental risks
An engineer, identified by the initials H.R. and withholding his full name for security reasons, said the soil in al-Hasakah countryside is classified as soft clay, which cannot withstand large underground voids without continuous reinforcement.
He explained that digging beneath villages disrupted soil stability, causing cracks in mud brick and concrete buildings, in addition to altering groundwater routes, negatively affecting crops, especially wheat and barley.
He added that the heavy use of cement and steel underground created barriers for deep-rooted trees and turned some farmland into areas no longer suitable for production.
Challenges after the takeover
In areas it recently captured, the Syrian government faces a dilemma over how to deal with these tunnels. Leaving them in place poses a potential security risk, while destroying them could cause widespread environmental and structural damage.
Proposals range from filling the tunnels with a special mixture to prevent soil subsidence, to repurposing some of them for civilian uses, such as agricultural storage facilities, provided they undergo appropriate engineering treatment.
The tunnels in al-Hasakah countryside reflect a phase of the Syrian conflict in which military survival was prioritized over civilian life. While residents waited for basic services, vast resources were buried in military projects that now fuel existential anxiety, amid fears the ground beneath them could become an unsafe web of voids.
SDF Tunnels, A Heavy Legacy Beneath al-Hasakah’s Soil Enab Baladi.
Hence then, the article about sdf tunnels a heavy legacy beneath al hasakah s soil was published today ( ) and is available on ُEnabbaladi ( Syria ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( SDF Tunnels, A Heavy Legacy Beneath al-Hasakah’s Soil )
Also on site :