Calls for Int’l Bodies to Remove Unexploded War Ordnance in Syria

 A displaced Syrian child standing beside the remnants of war (SOHR)
A displaced Syrian child standing beside the remnants of war (SOHR)
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Calls for Int’l Bodies to Remove Unexploded War Ordnance in Syria

 A displaced Syrian child standing beside the remnants of war (SOHR)
A displaced Syrian child standing beside the remnants of war (SOHR)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) renewed its appeal to all relevant international bodies to urgently remove old and unexploded wat ordnance in Syria.

War ordnance, such as old landmines and unexploded IEDs, bombs, shells, projectiles, grenades, and other munitions continue to pose a threat to the safety and lives of innocent Syrians, the war monitor stressed, noting that they are widely spread in the country.

These explosive remnants of war (ERW), which had been planted by military formations across the entire Syrian geography for over 11 years, have tragically killed and injured a large number of the Syrian people, it warned in a report published on Tuesday.

The SOHR has monitored and tracked the issue of explosive remnants of war and documented all the casualties in explosions of old landmines and unexploded ordnance across Syria in July 2022.

It documented the death of 20 civilians, including 14 women and eight children, and the injury of 30 civilians, including a woman and 20 children.

It further issued a monthly breakdown of casualties of explosions of old ordnance across Syria this year, noting that 16 civilians died in June, including four women and eight children, while 65 people were injured, including two women and 22 children.

In May, the war monitor said 19 people died, including two women and eight children, and 22 were injured, including two women and 15 children, some of whom sustained severe injuries.

In April, 19 civilians died, including two women and 12 children, while 22 people were injured, including four women and 13 children, some of whom sustained severe injuries.

March witnessed the death of 29 civilians, including 12 children, and the injury of 29, including three women and nine children, some of whom sustained severe injuries.

According to the report, 33 died in February, including two women and 16 children, and 37 were wounded, including 31 children.

It documented the death of 11 people in January, including two children, and the injury of 17 people, including nine children and two females.

Accordingly, SOHR documented the death of 127 civilians, including 10 women and 54 children, due to explosions of old landmines, unexploded shells and bombs across Syria since early 2022.

In addition, 192 civilians, including 11 women and 98 children, sustained various injuries in the same period.

Among the total death toll, a man and his son were killed in the collapse of a war-damaged building in Darya city in Rif Dimashq, as well as the death of four civilians in the collapse of another building in Jubar neighborhood.



Syria, Jordan, US Agree to Back Ceasefire Enforcement in Sweida

This handout picture released by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry shows (L to R) Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, and US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack meeting in Amman on August 12, 2025. (Jordanian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry shows (L to R) Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, and US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack meeting in Amman on August 12, 2025. (Jordanian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
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Syria, Jordan, US Agree to Back Ceasefire Enforcement in Sweida

This handout picture released by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry shows (L to R) Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, and US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack meeting in Amman on August 12, 2025. (Jordanian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry shows (L to R) Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, and US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack meeting in Amman on August 12, 2025. (Jordanian Foreign Ministry / AFP)

Syria, Jordan and the United States agreed on Tuesday to form a joint task force to support Damascus’ efforts to uphold a ceasefire in the Sweida province in southern Syria and end the crisis there, the three countries said in a joint statement.

The agreement was reached during talks in Jordan between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, and US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, the statement said.

The meeting discussed ways to help rebuild Syria “on foundations that guarantee its security, stability, sovereignty, unity and non-interference in its internal affairs.”

Jordan and the United States welcomed Damascus’ steps, including “full investigations and holding all perpetrators of crimes and violations in Sweida accountable” and its readiness to cooperate with relevant UN agencies in the probe, the Syrian foreign ministry said.

They also praised Syria’s moves to expand humanitarian aid access to all areas of Sweida, restore disrupted services, start community reconciliation, and promote civil peace.

Both countries reiterated their “full solidarity” with Syria’s security, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Sweida and its communities were an “integral part of Syria” whose residents’ rights must be preserved in the rebuilding process, the statement said.

The three sides agreed to meet again in the coming weeks to continue Tuesday’s discussions.

Barrack said on X: “Syria remains steadfastly committed to a united process that honors and protects all its constituencies, fostering a shared future for the Syrian people despite intervening forces seeking to disrupt and displace its communities.”

“Delivering justice and ending impunity are paramount to achieving lasting peace,” he stressed.

“The Syrian government has pledged to utilize all resources to hold perpetrators of the Sweida atrocities accountable, ensuring no one escapes justice for violations against its citizens,” he added. “Syria will fully cooperate with the UN to investigate these crimes.”

During a meeting with Shaibani, Safadi reaffirmed Jordan’s rejection of foreign interference in Syria and its support for the country’s security, sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to a Jordanian foreign ministry statement.

The FMs condemned repeated Israeli air strikes and incursions into Syria, calling them a “flagrant violation of international law” that threatened regional stability.

They discussed efforts to cement the Sweida truce, agreed last month after violence between armed groups in the mainly Druze province killed hundreds.

On X, Shaibani said Syria was committed to protecting Sweida’s Druze, Bedouin and Christian residents and to countering any sectarian or inciting rhetoric. “Our Druze people are an integral part of Syria... we reject any attempt to marginalize them under any pretext,” he said.

He pledged accountability for all violations in Sweida “regardless of the party involved,” saying justice was essential to building a state governed by law.