Syria Land Mines: ‘Age to clear them will take them: At least 249 killed because Syria’s land mine was killed

More than four months after the Syrian civil war with the collapse of Bashar Assad on 8 December 2024, the country is harassed by a hidden threats, land mines and unexplained remains of war.
According to data shared by the International NGO Safety Organization (INSO), these devices killed at least 249 people and 379 more including 60 children.
21 -year -old Suleman Khalil from Cuminous village in Southern Idlib is such a victim. While harvesting olives with two friends, Khalil stepped on a mine. “First, I thought I would die. I did not think I would escape from it,” he told AP. His left leg was injured in the first explosion, and his right leg was blown over the knee in another explosion as he tried to crawl. In alone and pain, he used his shirt to bleed and shouted until a soldier found it.
Khalil now dreams of an artificial limb so that he can return to work and support his family.
Land mines and explosive remains were used extensively by all parties during the 13-year war and now contaminates large health of the land, especially in east-line areas such as rural Idlib.
Recently, according to the AP report citing the report of Human Rights Watch (HRW), people have increased their presence as soon as the fall of Assad regime.
HRW senior researcher Richard Veer warned, “Tatkal, without nationwide withdrawal efforts, more citizens returning home to regain significant rights, life, livelihood and land will be injured and killed.”
Experts estimate that tens of thousands of mines have been buried and the correct scale of contamination is still unknown. Ahmed Joma, a team member along with the Syrian Ministry of Defense, said, “We do not even have an accurate number. All of them will take age to clean them.”
The mines posed daily risk for farmers who trust agriculture as their main income. In a recent case, a tractor hit a mine, causing workers seriously injured. Joma’s team began working after Assad’s fall, but faced a serious shortage of equipment. The news agency AP quoted Joma, “We have lost 15 to 20 (Deminers), and about a dozen our brothers were killed in doing this work.”
The psychological trauma caused by these explosives is deep. 22-year-old Shepherd Jalal al-Maaof of rural Idlib lost his leg three days after the Asad government fell. He is now on a waiting list for an artificial limb. “As you can see, I can’t walk,” he said.
The cost of a prosthetic organ is more than $ 3,000, which is beyond the means of most remaining people.
Mines were deployed by Syrian forces, their colleagues and opposition groups over years. But after recovering the areas, the Assad government made minimal effort to clean them. Now, it is former fighters such as volunteer teams and 39 -year -old Mohammad Swid, who put their lives at risk to clean the mines. Mohammed’s death in January avoids a mine that exploded. “Every day someone is dying,” his brother Salah said, stands from his grave.
HRW has asked the Syrian transitional government to create a civil-elevated mine action authority in coordination with the Action Service of the United Nations to increase clearance efforts.
For now, the fields are covered with danger, as silent and hidden threats are waiting to claim more lives.