Bashar Al-Assad’s regime collapse in December 2024 was meant to mark a turning point for Syria. Instead, an insidious threat is unfolding beneath the feet of its people. Landmines and unexploded ordnance left scattered in the aftermath of the civil war have become a silent killer for Syrians – particularly for those who are returning to their homes after years in refuge abroad. In the past week alone, at least 39 adults and eight children were killed by landmines and other explosive debris, the landmine clearance charity The HALO Trust warned.

Mouiad Alnofaly, HALO operations manager in Syria, told Metro that the whole country is ‘contaminated’. ‘There are hundreds of miles that are sown with hidden landmines and other unexploded ordnance,’ he said. ‘Explosives are found in residential areas, where children play, and in the grounds of hospitals and schools. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video.

Up Next. The Halo Trust are de-mining and disposing of munitions that leave the local population at risk of harm. ‘It is often the case that children will be killed or seriously maimed by a landmine they stumble on while collecting scraps at the market or while playing outside.’. This was the case of a 12-year-old boy whose leg was ripped apart by an explosive while he was playing with his grandfather last week.

His leg had to be amputated – a permanent scar of the war that he will have to live with for the rest of his life. Fortunately, his grandfather was at least 10 metres away when the mine went off and was not seriously injured. Syrians who are returning to their country after Assad was toppled have ‘no idea’ which areas are hazardous and have fallen victims to mines. Mouiad said Halo has been issuing safety messages about the mines, but admitted that ‘nothing can stop people from coming back’.

He himself stepped foot in Syria for the first time in 11 years on December 14, after seeking refuge in Jordan, and reunited with his mother and father just days ago. ‘I was over the moon,’ Mouiad recalled about the moment he crossed the Jaber land border crossing from Jordan into Syria. ‘I had not allowed myself to dream about it. It is so difficult to explain. But I am so happy to be home.’.

The total number of civilians killed or injured by landmines since the fall of Assad is now well over 400. Figures shared by HALO are also likely to be an underestimate because the deaths and injuries will be taking place in remote areas which people have not yet reported from. A register of verified accidents shared with Metro shows the scale of the crisis across Syria. On February 1, two people were killed when a landmine exploded in a car in the village of Abu Kubra, south of Mansoura, in the city of Raqqa.

A young man was killed on the same day in the village of Al-Fadasa in the eastern countryside of Hama, after a landmine exploded. Two others from the same family suffered varying degrees of injuries in the same explosion. Halo, which operated in 28 countries, has a small team of 40 deminers in Syria. Since the change of regime, they have received a tenfold rise in the number of calls from civilians desperate to get help to deal with landmines, bombs, and rockets from the 14-year civil war.

Mouiad stressed that to tackle this crisis his team would need at least 400 deminers. ‘Otherwise, it would take us decades to clear Syria,’ he warned. ‘Every day, people are killed by landmines. The entire country is contaminated. ‘We are grateful to our donors, but we need the support of the international community, the same way they have supported Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion.’.

The complex nature of the civil war, with multiple armed factions involved, means HALO currently only operates in the northwest of Syria, where it has been working since 2017. The team is planning an expansion in the region, where accidents are most prolific, but also to other Syrian governorates with high needs. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page.

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