Last month, hundreds of residents of the rural town of Mneen, outside Damascus, took to the streets to protest a government project to construct a well they say would divert water resources to the neighboring city of al-Tal.
Protesters gathered around the town’s fountain, which was also the site of demonstrations in 2011, when the Syrian revolution began. Local residents and officials in Mneen say the provincial authorities have pushed the project forward despite their objections.
This local protest over water diversion highlights a widespread water crisis that blighted Syria under Assad and threatens to do so again. Now, amid an accelerating climate crisis, dwindling water resources are straining relations between communities, as well as between local populations and the new authorities, which must not only decide who gets water, but also overcome the legacy of Assad-era governance.
Tensions came to a head when some of the protesters approached the site of the new well being drilled. Local residents say security forces fired into the air and beat them. Mohammed, 23, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, witnessed the events. “The town’s elders called on us to hold a peaceful sit-in until things were sorted out,” he told Syria Direct. “We thought someone would come listen to us and resolve the issue peacefully.”
“Instead, the security forces entered, started pushing people around, and then began firing shots into the air. Some people were beaten—not shot, but beaten with hands, rifle butts, and stones.”
Mohammed was one of the 35 protesters to be picked up by the security forces on his way home. He says he was treated properly in detention and was released the following day, along with dozens of other protesters. However, he feels the people of Mneen were mistreated.
“My message is that there must be justice,” he said. “These actions and beatings need to be addressed. Using rifle butts and beatings against unarmed people conducting a peaceful sit-in makes no sense.”
Syria Direct contacted the Ministry of Interior for comment, and it denied that general security had used violence against the protesters.
The mayor and six other members of the municipality initially resigned in protest, before resuming their functions the following day after the detained protesters were released.
The dispute is notable because it is not rooted in an obvious sectarian divide: Mneen and al-Tal are both Sunni-majority towns that supported the opposition to Assad and would ordinarily be considered part of the new authorities’ natural constituency. In 2012, both Mneen and al-Tal came under the full or partial control of rebel factions, which were forced to withdraw months later by the Assad regime. The towns stayed under regime control until Assad’s ouster in late 2024.
A banner shows the martyrs of Mneen killed during the conflict, at the town’s main roundabout where protesters gathered last month, 5/8/2026 (Natacha Danon/Syria Direct)
‘The trees are suffering’
Currently, residents of Mneen only receive drinking water every five to seven days, and further drilling could permanently threaten access within a few years, according to local officials. However, higher-level government officials in al-Tal—which is experiencing similar water shortages—say they need to meet growing demand caused by a significant influx of returnees from northwestern Syria and other parts of the country.
In the town of Mneen, many still rely on agriculture as their primary source of livelihood. However, over the years farmers have increasingly struggled to water their crops. “Due to water scarcity, agriculture is suffering—all my trees are suffering,” said Bassem Abu Qash, 60, a farmer born and raised in Mneen.
Due to government rationing that prioritizes drinking water, he is only able to water his land once a week. As a result, he can only sustain fruit orchards. “As for vegetables—like tomatoes and cucumbers—nobody can plant them anymore.”
Historically, residents relied on the nearby river for agriculture and drinking water. However, the last time the river flowed was in 2016. “Before, it was all greenery, and so beautiful because there was water. When the water dried up, the lands dried out,” Abu Qash recalled.
Today, he is considering selling his lands. “If the water situation stays like this, I won’t be able to farm and I will sell, it could become housing instead.” Given the town’s proximity to Damascus, agricultural lands have progressively given way to residential areas.
While farmers like Abu Qash are demanding the state drill more wells, the mayor of Mneen says it is not an option.
“The existing wells draw on aquifers that have largely dried up. No new well should be dug, and no well that dries up should be drilled deeper,” Rami Naji, mayor of Mneen, told Syria Direct.
Aquifers are deep underground reservoirs that store groundwater. Those that feed Mneen and al-Tal are regenerated every eight to 10 years if there is sufficient snowfall and rainfall, Naji said. While Syria experienced historic rainfall this year, most of the water was extracted, leaving little water for aquifers to regenerate, he added.
The well that has been met with protests is an old one that has dried up and requires further drilling. However, Naji says it would divert water from an adjacent well that feeds Mneen, thereby exacerbating existing water shortages. Further drilling—beyond the existing 250 meters—could also contaminate the groundwater, he added.
Currently, there are 27 public and private wells when in fact there should only be seven, Naji said. “However, [former] regime officials from al-Tal dug informal wells for personal use at the expense of the larger community—often on private lands belonging to the people of Mneen,” Naji added.
The well in question is located on private lands that the former regime unilaterally drilled on. “Today, there is a repeat of this situation as the authorities are trying to rehabilitate a well in Mneen without the permission of the municipality,” he added.
Unregulated drilling was one of the defining features of the Syrian conflict due to lack of state oversight. The proliferation of unlicensed wells drove groundwater deeper and deeper into the earth.
Read more: In thirsty Daraa, uncontrolled well drilling drives groundwater deeper
“Over the last 14 years of the war, with the absence of the rule of law, many people depended on informal ways to find water sources, including illegal drilling of wells and illegal usage of rivers,” researcher Lina Ghoutouk told Syria Direct. “Most authorities were either complicit with such behaviors or turned a blind eye.”
Further drilling could irreversibly deplete the existing water resources within four years, according to the groundwater surveys the municipality has conducted. Given that the new state continues to be significantly underresourced, it is unclear how it would meet residents’ water needs if that were to happen.
Some residents are already forced to buy water during the days when drinking water is cut off. However, some don’t have the ability to pay $0.2 per liter in a country where 90 percent of the population lives below the poverty line ($3 per day). “Ultimately, poor people are the most impacted by the water shortages,” Naji said.
‘Rebuilding trust’
“There is trust between the state and the people, but the problem is with the local government,” Naji said. “The history of land theft—with drilling on private lands—has caused public resentment.”
Water disputes have long defined the relationship between al-Tal and Mneen. “In the past, the regime worked to inflame these issues, exploiting sectarian or regional divisions to keep people divided,” Riad Abdullah Meriem, the administrator of the al-Tal District, told Syria Direct. Meriem oversees 12 municipalities, including Mneen.
Riad Abdullah Meriem, administrator of al-Tal District, sits at his desk, 5/8/2026 (Natacha Danon/Syria Direct)
These historic grievances must now be overcome by the new authorities, who overthrew the regime of Bashar al-Assad in 2024. “People feel oppression not from the current state but from the previous regime. However, people are fearful of renewed oppression,” Naji added.
Meriem said former Ba’ath Party officials in al-Tal “held immense influence and wronged many people in the past.” Some locals believe those individuals “still hold influence,” he added.
These residents accuse former regime officials—as well as new officials who served in Idlib under the HTS-linked Syrian Salvation Government before 2024—of driving the government’s drilling project despite local objections.
HTS was formerly led by Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, and the new Syrian authorities have been accused of disproportionately appointing individuals who served in the Salvation Government to leadership positions. Meriem is one such official who returned from Idlib to his hometown of al-Tal. He denied the allegations, however, saying, “Decisions are being made according to scientific studies, not based on power or authority.”
“The state needs more participatory approaches, a gradual approach to [climate] adaptation strategies that don’t suddenly turn from a total lack of the rule of law to expecting people to abide [by the law],” researcher Ghoutouk added. Such a strategy could help gain community buy-in for government projects, such as the current water drilling project in Mneen.
As the new state is forced to contend with the compounding impacts of climate change and economic crisis, it must overcome the legacy of Assad rule and build relationships anew with local communities, even with those that constitute its popular base.
“Ultimately the key message is to rebuild trust in state institutions, allow them to fulfill their duties, and address any grievances through legal, official channels,” Meriem said.
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