By Anas al-Bar | 2024-08-02

Iran-aligned militias in Deir Ezzor have been secretly excavating the province's archeological sites for artifacts to sell outside Syria on the black market, local sources said.

The sales provide key revenue for the armed groups, which they use to build up their operations and finance their activities.

There is an abundance of archeological sites in the eastern province on both sides of the Euphrates river, including the ruins of the Roman fortress city of Circesium (al-Qarqisiya) and the ruins of the Bronze Age city state of Mari.

These sites, along with other sites such as the Hellenistic, Parthian and Roman border city of Dura-Europos (near present-day al-Salihiyah) and the citadels of Halabieh and Zalabieh, are increasingly vulnerable to looting and destruction.

The Iran-aligned militias that control these areas are carrying out intensive excavation at some sites under heavy guard, according to local sources.

Al-Rahba citadel near al-Mayadeen, which dates from medieval times, is now surrounded with barriers, security checkpoints and heavily armed militiamen.

Iran-backed Iraqi militia Liwa Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas, a Kataib Hizbullah affiliate, has undertaken excavation at the citadel using hand tools and simple drills powered by generators, Deir Ezzor 24 network reported.

In the area surrounding the citadel, heavy machinery is being used to dig up the ground in the hopes of uncovering buried artifacts.

In the vicinity of Albu Kamal, similar excavation is taking place, with an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Crops (IRGC) element known as "Hajj Saeed" supervising the work, sources told the network.

"Haj Saeed" has reportedly hired local residents who know the area to direct him to sites of historical significance, which he then excavates with specialized equipment brought in for that purpose.

Looting and smuggling

IRGC-controlled militias encamped in Deir Ezzor have left no stone unturned in their quest for artifacts they can sell on the black market, Al-Masdar Media Group director Nawras al-Arfi told Al-Fassel.

They are pursuing a "systematic process" of exploiting and destroying all the ancient historical sites in the region, he said, notably al-Rahba citadel and the Dura-Europos site near al-Salihiyah.

"When antiquities are found, they are immediately looted and smuggled to Iran," al-Arfi said, adding that Iran-aligned militias are doing things that are "extremely harmful to the archeological and humanities value of those sites."

In addition to the excavations being carried out on a large scale in search of antiquities, some sites are being used as weapon and ammunition depots.

"Iran and its proxies are tampering with the heritage and culture of the city of Deir Ezzor and the identity of its people," he said.