More than four weeks after Syria’s civil war ended with the fall of Bashar Assad on December 8, 2024, the region remains haunted by a hidden risk, land mines and old relics of war.
These devices have killed at least 249 people and injured 379 more, including 60 children, since the conflict officially ceased, according to data shared by the International NGO Safety Organisation ( INSO ).
Suleiman Khalil, 21, from Qaminas village in southeastern Idlib, is one such target. While harvesting beets with two companions, Khalil stepped on a plant. “At second, I thought I’d died. I did n’t assume I would endure this, ” he told AP. His left foot was wounded in the first fire, and his right foot was blown off above the leg in a second detonation as he tried to crawl away. Alone and in anguish, he used his clothing to tie off the bruising and screamed until a man found him.
Khalil then dreams of a prosthetic leg so he can return to work and support his family.
Property mines and violent remnants were extensively used by all sides during the 13-year battle and then taint large swathes of land, mainly in previous front-line areas like remote Idlib.
Their presence has surged as people return to these areas after the fall of the Assad regime, reported AP, citing a recent Human Rights Watch ( HRW) report.
“Without urgent, nationwide certification work, more residents returning home to reclaim critical right, life, livelihoods and property will be injured and killed, ” warned Richard Weir, senior scholar at HRW.
Researchers estimate that tens of thousands of mine remain placed and the true magnitude of pollution is still unknown. “We don’t even have an actual range. It will take years to clear them all, ” said Ahmad Jomaa, a demining crew member with Syria’s military government.
The mining pose regular challenges for landowners who rely on agriculture as their main income. In one new event, a vehicle hit a me, leaving staff seriously injured. Jomaa’s group started function after Assad’s collapse, but faced extreme shortages of products. “We’ve had 15 to 20 ( deminers ) lose limbs, and around a dozen of our brothers were killed doing this job, ” news agency AP quoted Jomaa.
The emotional pain caused by these explosives is tremendous. Jalal al-Maarouf, a 22-year-old sheep from remote Idlib, lost his leg three weeks after the Assad government fell. He is now on a waiting list for a prosthetic leg. “As you can see, I can’t walk, ” he said.
A robotic limb prices over$ 3,000, far beyond the methods of most individuals.
The mine were planted over the years by Arab forces, their friends and opposition parties. But after recapturing places, the Assad government made little effort to clear them. Nowadays, it is voluntary teams and former soldiers like Mohammad Sweid, 39, who risk their lives clearing mines. Mohammad died in January while defusing a plant that exploded. “Every time someone is dying, ” his brother Salah said, standing by his tomb.
HRW has called on Syria’s intermediate government to create a civilian-led me behavior specialist in cooperation with the UN Mine Action Service to scale up certification work.
For now, the areas remain littered with threat, as silent and invisible risks waiting to say more lives.
