RIYADH, 18 June — Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal pledged yesterday to rebuild a village in northern Syria devastated earlier this month by a collapsed dam.
At least 20 people were killed and an estimated 100 homes destroyed when the Zeyzoun dam, north of the city of Hama, burst and flooded 60 square km of farmland with water, burying Zeyzoun in mud and silt.
A statement from Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding Company said the prince pledged to “reconstruct the entire village of Zeyzoun and all its infrastructure of water, electricity, telephone and sewage systems.”
It said the prince, who was in Damascus to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad, had also pledged to fix the streets and build schools, mosques, a clinic and a hospital.
The statement said the Syrian government had decided to rename Zeyzoun “Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal Village” in honor of the prince.
