Syrian Authorities Restored Nearly One Third of Homes in Latakia Since 2015

DAMASCUS (Sputnik) - More than 400 out of the 1,500 dwelling houses destroyed in the course of the Syrian civil war have been recovered in the mountainous areas of the western Syrian Latakia Province, Sameer Islam, a representative of the local authorities who oversees construction works in the area, told reporters on Wednesday.

"The program of accommodation recovery in Latakia's mountainous areas was launched back in 2015, as soon as militants were removed from villages. We created a special commission then, and its members have been traveling across all the released villages, registering fractures, and creating a plan of works. Within this program, over 400 houses in seven localities have been restored. We need to recover 1,500 buildings in total," Islam said.

He added that over 1.36 million Syrian liras ($2.6 million) has been spend during the first stage of the reconstruction. Islam specified that the recovery of the worst-hit houses was being conducted first.

"We reconstruct the walls and insert windows so that people have where to return to after the war," Islam added. Broken walls, and damaged window and door apertures are the most-often registered wrecks, according to Islam.

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Syria has been devastated by years of violent war with terrorist and armed opposition groups, which led to the destruction of its infrastructure and a major humanitarian crisis in the country.

The Syrian authorities are currently engaged in rebuilding the country in order to create favorable conditions for the actively returning refugees.

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