Fragile peace in Syria’s Set Zaynab as sectarian challenges persist

Damascus, Syria – Mohammad Sallouta sat outside his printing shop in Set Zaynab, in southern Damascus, where he has worked for the last two decades.“[Security-wise] the area is 90 percent very good,” the 47-year-old said. “But people are still afraid. Security is not 100 percent, so we are still waiting.”Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3How Israel uses settler-soldier terror to colonise the West Banklist 2 of 3Guterres tours Syria’s notorious ‘Assad Prison’ in Sednayalist 3 of 3Al-Sharaa outlines Syria’s approach to security with Israel and Lebanonend of listThe area, famous for the shrine to Sayyida Zaynab, Prophet Muhammad’s granddaughter and the daughter of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Muslim caliph, was bustling with tourists during Bashar al-Assad’s rule. Shia religious pilgrims, mostly from Iraq, came in large numbers to visit the shrine, which they particularly revere. They would stay in hotels, visit the local cafes, and shop.But since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, the tourism industry has largely dried up. Locals said some visitors, mostly from Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait, still pass through the area, but typically in small groups. Few Iraqis vi...