War remnants in Syria: Claiming lives and disrupting reconstruction ...Syria

Mowaffak al-Khouja | Besan Khalaf | Christina al-Shammas

The years of conflict, spanning 14 years, have left deadly scars, manifested in rubble, contaminated lands, and vast amounts of landmines, explosives, and unexploded ordnance scattered throughout Syrian geography. These remnants continue to claim more lives and leave permanent injuries, requiring psychological and community care, while preventing displaced people from returning to their homes and depriving farmers of restoring their lands.

The devastating effects of the war have not only resulted in loss of life but have also harmed the national economy, halting investment and reconstruction projects.

The country, which previously ranked first globally in the number of casualties due to landmines in recent years, had its ranking drop to second place. However, indicators show a return to the top position again, despite more than six months having passed since the fall of the Assad regime and the cessation of war.

On the other hand, government bodies, along with NGOs and UN organizations, are striving to eliminate these deadly remnants through various plans and projects. These include operational efforts to survey and identify their locations for removal, as well as community awareness projects aimed at residents and those working in the humanitarian sector to help reduce landmine and unexploded ordnance casualties.

Enab Baladi monitors the effects of these remnants in this report, recounting the stories of those affected and interviewing researchers, specialists, and decision-makers to address the issue and present efforts to eliminate the dangers in order to pursue reconstruction and restore normal life.

Ahmad al-Rifai (39 years old) lost his legs due to the explosion of a landmine while working in agriculture in the city of al-Bukamal, Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria, in 2021.

Al-Rifai could not complete his account to Enab Baladi about the moment of his injury and the doctor’s decision to amputate his legs after young men rushed him to the hospital. He simply stated, “To lose a part of your body means to become disabled.”

Al-Rifai faced two options: either to surrender or to fight for life and for his three children. He chose to continue and help his wife, who works in homemade food production, but he has not overcome the trauma of losing his legs and his mental health has worsened after losing his younger brother to another landmine explosion a year after his own injury.

Al-Rifai’s situation echoes that of Mo’mena al-Rifai (24 years old), who lost her leg when she visited her home in Daraa, southern Syria, which contained an unexploded bomb.

Mo’mena lost her leg when she was 20, and she halted her university studies for two years out of fear of bullying.

Her father, an agricultural engineer, decided to consult a mental health specialist to help her regain her self-confidence and continue her education after she was fitted with a prosthetic leg. Mo’mena suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and accompanying depression.

She continued her treatment on two levels: medication and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Psychologist Alaa Rankousi explained to Enab Baladi that the psychological suffering and trauma experienced by individuals who have lost limbs in such harsh, painful, and psychologically destructive moments can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder or severe depression, affecting their daily, social, and work lives.

Amputees experience significant anxiety over the negative perceptions of society when they reintegrate into community life. They require substantial psychological support from those around them to cope with changes in their physical, psychological, and social life, which creates immense pressure as they work to overcome trauma and rejoin society, according to Rankousi.

Rankousi called for prioritizing these individuals within the community and government by establishing psychological and social support centers to expedite their adaptation and acceptance.

The state’s responsibility includes providing them with new skills suitable for their conditions and integrating them into the community and labor market in ways that accommodate their abilities. Consideration must also be given to the radical changes in their mobility and movement capabilities, including the designation of wheelchair-accessible locations, dedicated bus stops, and many details that facilitate their independent movement to lead improved lives and confront the new challenges they face, according to Rankousi.

Landmines come in two forms: anti-personnel mines and vehicle mines.

Anti-personnel mines are prohibited under the Mine Ban Treaty, which was adopted in 1997.

More than 165 countries are parties to this treaty.

There is a notable decrease in casualties, an increase in landmine-free countries, the destruction of stockpiled mines, and improved victim assistance.

The United Nations

A volunteer in the Syria Civil Defence working in the destruction of unexploded ordnance – April 2025 (TNH/Hassan Bilal)

Thousands of casualties

During the years of conflict in Syria, a number of civilians were killed, and humanitarian organizations were unable to accurately count the casualties for several reasons, primarily due to the difficulty of establishing these institutions in areas with multiple controlling parties.

UN bodies have become active in opposition-held areas in northwestern Syria, alongside the Syria Civil Defence, while the efforts of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) have been limited to areas previously controlled by the regime.

Syria topped the list of countries for landmine casualties globally for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, and 2022), falling to second place in 2023 behind Myanmar.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) documented the deaths of 3,521 civilians due to landmine explosions, including 931 children and 362 women (adult females) since the beginning of the Syrian revolution until the end of 2024.

Among the civilian casualties were seven from the Syria Civil Defence cadre, eight medical personnel, and nine media workers.

The network estimated the number of injured civilians at more than 10,400, many of whom need prosthetic limbs, in addition to a lengthy series of rehabilitation and psychological support services.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Red Crescent documented 5,686 casualties among killed and injured from war remnants across 1,700 villages in all Syrian governorates that were under previous regime control, from the beginning of 2018 until the end of 2024.

According to the annual report of the Landmine Monitor (Mine Action Review) issued in 2023, which involved the Syria Civil Defence, Syria recorded for the third consecutive year the highest number of new victims of anti-personnel mines or unexploded ordnance.

The report documented 834 victims throughout Syria during 2022 and the first half of 2023.

After the war

The end of the war encouraged Syrians to return to their original areas after years of displacement, but the spread of munitions and landmines in areas that were once military confrontation lines led to an increase in civilian casualties.

According to the United Nations, at least 1,000 people have been killed or injured, including more than 600 fatalities and over 400 additional injuries, since December 2024 until the beginning of June this year.

In contrast, The Halo Trust organization confirms that the confirmed number of civilians killed is lower than the reality due to a lack of reporting and incidents occurring in remote areas, pointing out that the number of life-altering injuries caused by landmines exceeds the number of fatalities.

Where they spread

Landmines are spread across the Syrian geography, mostly in areas that were direct confrontation lines between the conflicting parties and witnessed long battles.

According to human rights organizations, including the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) and Human Rights Watch (HRW), all parties in the conflict, including the opposition, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and the previous regime, have used landmines without maps indicating their locations.

The SNHR published maps showing the locations of landmines, indicating their spread in the provinces of Idlib, Aleppo in northern Syria, Hama in the center, and the outskirts of Damascus in the south, in addition to lower percentages in Deir Ezzor, and then the remaining provinces.

The use of cluster bombs, equivalent to landmines, was limited to the previous regime.

Anti-personnel landmines are defined as munitions planted underground or on its surface, which explode when a person or vehicle approaches them. Unexploded ordnance is considered part of these mines due to their similar characteristics, as they can explode at any moment upon being touched.

Syrian Network for Human Rights

Removal of a high-explosive cluster bomb in Idlib – May 22, 2025 (Syria Civil Defence)

Numbering in the millions

According to a previous statement by the head of the engineering teams in northern Syria and the Badia, affiliated with the Military Operations Administration (currently the nucleus of the Ministry of Defense), Maysara al-Hassan, the estimated number of munitions across Syria is in the millions.

In northern Syria alone, there are over 200 mined villages, in addition to more than 260 documented minefields marked with warning signs to prevent approaching and mapping out the distribution of landmines, according to al-Hassan.

The types and sources of landmines vary depending on the regions and different stages of the war, noting that the main types of mines discovered during the removal operations include anti-personnel mines and anti-tank mines.

He pointed out that most of them are of Iranian and Russian manufacture, in addition to locally-made munitions such as improvised explosive devices planted by the SDF during their withdrawal from the northern villages.

For his part, Dr. Hussam Hallak, the deputy minister of emergency and disaster planning and institutional efficiency, explained that the most common remnants in devastated areas are anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, with some types classified as “very dangerous” made of materials undetectable by metal detectors.

The danger of landmines increases in forested and brush areas, as their activation mechanism acts as traps for any wanderer within these forests, according to Hallak’s statements to Enab Baladi.

During their operations, Civil Defence teams have destroyed 28,000 remnants of war, including more than 23,000 cluster bombs.

War remnants teams in the Syria Civil Defence identified 141 fields and points where landmines are spread, in civilian areas and near civilians’ homes, agricultural fields, and facilities.

The teams discovered dozens of minefields containing anti-vehicle and anti-personnel mines that are banned internationally, causing numerous casualties among civilians in recent days due to their explosions.

The issue of the return of families to areas destroyed by the previous Syrian regime is linked to the removal of war remnants and landmines, as the removal of rubble from destroyed areas and filling of tunnels relates to remnants that threaten safe return.

Areas that were in contact with the capital Damascus were subjected to heavy barrel bomb shelling, leading to their complete destruction, such as the Jobar neighborhood, which cannot recover without filling its tunnels containing many unexploded rockets and munitions.

According to residents of Jobar, the tunnels contain ammunition caches and field hospitals used by opposition factions during their control of the area.

Mohammed Awata, a member of the Jobar Municipal Council, previously told Enab Baladi that the tunnels in Jobar pose an obstacle to the return of families, as some of them contain war remnants, making their filling a difficult task that requires military collaboration to handle the remnants in a way that does not cause more harm to the area. Initially, landmines and war remnants must be removed, then the tunnels can be filled or used in reconstruction.

Death awaits them again

Most of the displaced residents from the affected areas whom Enab Baladi interviewed expressed their fear of returning to their areas due to incidents of injuries and fatalities reported by the Syria Civil Defence on its platforms resulting from landmine and ordnance explosions.

Baraa al-Khalidi returned to Syria from Jordan immediately after the fall of the Assad regime, accompanied by his brother to check their home in Jobar. They could not locate their house, and during their search, a landmine detonated in an open area in Jobar, killing his brother.

Al-Khalidi and his family left Syria in 2016 to escape the regime’s bombing, spending nine years in exile, only to return and lose his brother to war remnants. He told Enab Baladi that they decided to distance themselves from death and leave Syria, only to find it waiting for them again upon their return.

Some types of war remnants lie on the surface, while others, like aerial bombs, are buried several meters underground, making their removal a challenging task.

Unexploded ordnance differs in mechanism from landmines, as landmines are planted to cause injuries, while unexploded ordnance consists of tools that failed to perform their function; they may never explode or could detonate at any moment, making their impact and danger unpredictable.

Over the past years, teams in the Syria Civil Defence documented the use of the Assad regime and Russia of more than 60 types of various munitions to kill civilians, including 11 types of internationally banned cluster bombs.

Syria Civil Defence

Conditions for safe return

Mohammad Hilal, Director of the Urban Planning and Reconstruction Committee in Damascus, stated that accelerating the reconstruction process in the affected areas requires clearing them of war debris and landmines.

He added to Enab Baladi that the governorate is working towards a safe return for residents of the destroyed areas, ensuring their rights. He pointed out that removing the rubble without an organized return of the residents could lead to a crisis of informal settlements.

Hilal explained that the removal of war debris needs to be expedited to secure the return of residents and hasten the reconstruction of areas destroyed by the ousted regime.

Regarding ensuring the devastated areas are cleared of dangers from war debris, the Assistant Minister of Emergency and Disaster Planning and Institutional Efficiency, Hussam Hallak, told Enab Baladi that the ministry is preparing a response and activating an early warning system. This will identify all risks in Syria, develop matrices for these risks, and consequently establish strategies to address them.

Hallak confirmed that all relevant parties, including the Syria Civil Defence teams and firefighting units, are working effectively and continuously to mitigate these dangers in residential communities.

Regarding the measures taken to ensure the safety of local residents in affected areas, Hallak noted that all teams working in this field and local and international organizations are conducting awareness campaigns and placing warning signs in areas they are surveying. Despite the efforts undertaken, he considers it insufficient. Therefore, the National Mine Action Center places significant importance on creating maps that identify these areas using geographical maps and issuing periodic bulletins that are updated daily about the areas where remnants have been cleared.

Impact on farmers

The remnants of war and the landmines spread throughout Syria have affected various service and economic sectors, in addition to social and health impacts, including agriculture.

The fear of landmine explosions has halted the work of many farmers, particularly in the rural areas of Deir Ezzor and Aleppo, as well as Daraa, As-Suwayda, and various regions in the rural areas of Damascus.

Zain al-Din al-Hajjin, a farmer from Deir Ezzor who spoke to Enab Baladi, lost his truffle season due to the danger of harvesting. His friend had died as a result of a mine explosion during last year’s season.

Incidents of landmine explosions are common in the countryside of Deir Ezzor due to the control of the Islamic State group, which used to plant mines to cut off access to areas it previously controlled. Landmines also spread across the Syrian geography, especially in agricultural areas.

Syria Civil defence teams clear war debris in Idlib, November 23, 2024 (Syria Civil Defence)

The damage inflicted by war remnants goes beyond killing people and preventing them from returning to their homes and lands. It also has psychological and social impacts, and affects the Syrian economy.

Political economist Yahya al-Sayed Omar stated to Enab Baladi that war remnants are one of the main obstacles to the recovery of the Syrian economy.

The researcher pointed out the negative impact on investment, as many industrial or agricultural areas were conflict zones, which increases the likelihood of the presence of explosive materials and thus discourages investors from working in these regions.

Additionally, the heightened risks negatively affect the insurance market because companies often refuse to insure economic facilities operating in high-risk environments.

The presence of elevated risks is a negative indicator concerning the stability of the investment environment in the country, according to researcher al-Sayed Omar.

More affected sectors

Researcher Yahya al-Sayed Omar mentioned that the most affected economic sectors from these remnants include agriculture, as vast areas are unsuitable for investment due to landmines, threatening agricultural production and limiting economic recovery opportunities.

The construction sector also suffers from increased operational costs due to the need for security surveys before implementing any project, which also slows down reconstruction operations.

The transportation sector is also affected due to restricted movement in many areas. Even tourism, which could contribute to supporting the economy, is declining due to the risks surrounding archaeological and natural sites.

Al-Sayed Omar believes that with these challenges, addressing the issue of war remnants is not just a humanitarian demand, but a pressing economic necessity for revitalizing Syria and rebuilding investors’ trust.

To tackle this challenge, al-Sayed Omar called for drawing on the experiences of countries that faced similar conditions and leveraging international expertise and the United Nations.

Support and plans

Several entities and organizations, during the Syrian revolution and thereafter, have been working to remove landmines and unexploded ordnance. The most prominent among them is the Syria Civil Defence, which has been active in northwestern Syria, where the opposition was in control, in addition to organizations and UN agencies such as The Halo Trust, as well as teams from military entities.

In areas controlled by the Syrian regime before its fall, the Syrian Red Crescent recorded victims of war remnants and landmines, as well as awareness campaigns. It continued its work after the regime’s fall in partnership with the International Red Cross and local organizations that operated in northwestern Syria.

These entities have repeatedly suffered from limited resources and support, in addition to inadequate equipment and the dangers surrounding them.

Before the fall of the Assad regime, the Syria Civil Defece operated six survey teams and six removal teams in northwestern Syria, and it seeks to increase the number to more than ten teams in every specialty due to the high demand.

For its part, The Halo Trust operates with a team of 40 individuals and receives international support, the latest of which, at the time this file was prepared, was five million euros provided by Germany. They state that the cost of mine removal operations in Syria is about 40 million dollars annually.

National Center for Mine Action

The Assistant Minister of Emergency and Disaster Planning and Institutional Efficiency, Dr. Hussam Hallak, stated to Enab Baladi that the ministry is preparing a structure and a complete vision to announce the “National Center for Mine Action” in the near future.

Hallak explained that the center will regulate all strategies and procedures to organize efforts in Syria aimed at removing mines and unexploded ordnance, which pose a significant threat to the lives of the Syrian people.

The National Center for Mine Action will include all local and international teams and organizations, in addition to cooperation and coordination between the Ministries of Emergency and Disaster and Defense, by establishing policies and procedures for removing remnants.

The Ministry of Defense possesses heavy equipment, armored vehicles, and specialized machinery for executing mine clearance operations through specialized protocols to dispose of them, as well as dealing with the materials they contain to prevent future threats.

According to Hallak, the center is tasked with coordinating local organizations to support and direct these operations to the most necessary areas, mentioning the work on issuing bulletins and maps indicating the locations that have been completely cleared of war remnants or hazardous areas, to mitigate risks and protect civilians.

On April 8, the Human Rights Watch urged the current Syrian government and international donors to prioritize surveying, removal, and awareness of risks, ensuring adequate funding for mine removal activities and providing sufficient compensation for victims, assuring adequate funding for mine removal activities and providing sufficient compensation for victims.

It also called for the establishment of a national authority and center for mine-related activities led by civilians and to work closely with the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) to coordinate ongoing mine action efforts throughout the country, set standards, and review existing registration agreements for humanitarian organizations working in the field of mines to facilitate their life-saving work.

Specialized teams

The Assistant Minister of Emergency and Disaster affirmed the existence of specialized training teams in the Syria Civil Defence for dealing with remnants of war, stating that training has been taking place for many years, and there are fully trained teams, in addition to specialized teams in the Ministry of Defense with extensive experience in clearing remnants. He noted that work is ongoing to expand the elements of specialized teams and focus on all training that would enhance work standards, through the use of modern technology such as robots and drones in safely removing remnants.

The specialized teams work on developing plans for how to deal with mines and munitions, classifying their types and locations. However, there remains a risk to these teams due to the presence of undetectable mines that threaten the lives of those involved in their removal. Therefore, it is not always possible to contain all risks.

The role of the Syrian Red Crescent

The field coordinator at the communication and media unit of the Syrian Red Crescent, Mohamed Said, stated to Enab Baladi that there is a specialized team within the organization that works in collaboration with the Red Cross, called the “Humanitarian Mine Action Unit.”

Its work includes a project for raising awareness about the dangers of mines and unexploded remnants of war, a non-technical survey project, and assisting victims affected by remnants of war.

According to Said, the unit aims to reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by unexploded remnants of war and enhance the resilience of residents living in contaminated areas, by raising awareness of the dangers and facilitating safer behaviors, in addition to conducting non-technical survey activities.

Said explained that the teams of the Humanitarian Mine Action Unit in the Red Crescent carry out several activities, including:

Awareness programs

The Syria Civil Defence focuses its specialized program on war remnants and unexploded ordnance on increasing awareness of the dangers of mines and remnants of war through awareness campaigns, equipping residents with the knowledge and skills necessary to avoid them.

The campaigns include educating residents on how to recognize mines and other unexploded ordnance, in addition to providing training on how to remain safe in potentially contaminated areas.

Raising awareness of the risks associated with mines and unexploded ordnance helps reduce the risk of injury and death and promotes safer communities, especially for children.

The awareness campaigns aim to enhance awareness during emergencies, change behavior in the long term, and give local communities an important role in learning to protect themselves and report the presence of remnants of war.

Awareness teams rely on posters and direct physical sessions based on a community engagement approach, which is the most effective, as Civil Defence volunteers are members of their local communities and therefore have a high-impact communication channel.

The Syria Civil Defence conducts an awareness campaign for children about the dangers of war remnants (Syria Civil Defence)

Awareness for humanitarian workers

Alongside clearance and removal activities, the teams dealing with unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the Syria Civil Defence seek to raise awareness among humanitarian workers to avoid risks while performing their humanitarian duties.

Humanitarian teams have organized security and safety training sessions for several organizations working in northwestern Syria before the regime’s fall, including training sessions for 100 trainees from the Ihsan Relief and Development organization, part of the Syrian Forum, which included three axes, including the risks of war remnants.

Similar training sessions were held for 100 trainees from the People In Need organization in Suran and Azaz offices in northern Aleppo, in addition to training for the organizations “WHH” and “SARD.”

Guidelines for raising awareness of the dangers of war remnants:

Source: Syria Civil Defence

War remnants in Syria: Claiming lives and disrupting reconstruction Enab Baladi.

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