In Post-War Areas of Syria, Mines Upend Civilian Lives

Syrian army engineers take part in demining training near the Syrian capital Damascus | AFP
Syrian army engineers take part in demining training near the Syrian capital Damascus | AFP
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In Post-War Areas of Syria, Mines Upend Civilian Lives

Syrian army engineers take part in demining training near the Syrian capital Damascus | AFP
Syrian army engineers take part in demining training near the Syrian capital Damascus | AFP

After the fighting, Syrian farmer Abu Thaer returned to his farm to work. But he stepped on a landmine left behind by militants, changing his life for good.

At a medical charity in Damascus, the 46-year-old from the southern province of Daraa lifts up his black track pants to reveal a prosthetic leg.

"I was clearing out dead weeds and starting to plough when a landmine exploded," said the farmer, sitting upright on his bed.

"My life was turned upside down," said the agricultural worker, who asked for a pseudonym for fear of reprisal, his tanned face wrinkled beyond his years.

Abu Thaer is one of thousands of civilians wounded by explosives left behind in fields, by roads or even in buildings by all sides in Syria's eight-year war.

Hundreds more have been killed by the explosives, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.

In July alone, 15 children were among 30 civilians killed by landmines, explosives or grenades in various parts of the country, it says.

This year, truffle digging saw many people, including women and children, lose their lives in the country's center, northeast and east, state media has said.

Abu Thaer used to plant wheat and tomatoes in his village in the west of Daraa, before the area was overrun by militants affiliated to ISIS.

Regime forces expelled the extremists from the area last summer after weeks of battle, but Abu Thaer says losing his leg has left him severely debilitated.

"I used to plough and cultivate the land, but now I'm no longer strong enough," Abu Thaer.

"I only do simple tasks."

- 'Big challenge' -

Across Syria, more than 10 million people live in areas contaminated by explosive hazards, the United Nations says.

In areas it has retaken from rebels and militants with Russian backing since 2015, Syria's regime is working to clear explosives.

On a near-daily basis, the defense ministry announces the detonation of large quantities of explosives left behind by anti-regime forces in areas recaptured by the government.

In the Eastern Ghouta region just outside Damascus, soldiers have been sweeping a hamlet and surrounding fields for hidden explosives, more than a year after rebels were ousted.

After uncovering them with metal detectors and long sticks, they moved mortars, ammunition stockpiles, and rusty landmines into a deep pit.

A loud bang resonated and a thick cloud of black smoke rose overhead, after they detonated the stockpile remotely using a long blue fuse, according to an AFP team present at the site.

"It's a big challenge," said a commander with the Syrian army's engineering corps overseeing the mine clearing in Al-Muleha district.

The official, who also asked not to be named, said demining was especially difficult as "there are no maps of the landmines".

As a result, sweeping operations could take "decades", he added.

He accused opposition groups of having planted landmines in residential buildings, agricultural fields and state institutions before withdrawing.

"This has led to heavy losses," the commander told AFP, warning they pose a long-term threat.

- '140 tons' -

Mayas Mahmud Issa, an army general who presides over clearing operations in Eastern Ghouta, said his teams have swept 21 towns and villages since the April 2018 recapture of the ex-rebel bastion.

"We have detonated 140 tons of ammunition and explosives of different shapes, sizes, and weights, both made locally and abroad," he told AFP.

But authorities still have a long way to go to mitigate the threat.

In July 2018, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) signed a memorandum of understanding with the government to establish a permanent representation in Damascus.

The United Nations has trained 70 people and deployed them to areas in Damascus and Hama to raise awareness about explosive hazards, UN spokeswoman Fadwa Abedrabou Baroud said.

It is also planning similar awareness campaigns for Syria's southern provinces, including Daraa, Baroud added.

In recent weeks, Syrians have been receiving text messages on their phones warning them of the dangers of unexploded ordnance.

"Explosive remnants are dangerous. Do not touch... Immediately alert the nearest authority," reads one such message.

But for Abu Thaer, the landmine threat is still a real one.

One year after his leg was amputated, he says he fears more mine explosions.



UN Rapporteur Calls for Global Action to Stop ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

 UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Rapporteur Calls for Global Action to Stop ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

 UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)

The United Nations’ special rapporteur for Gaza and the West Bank said Tuesday that it's time for nations around the world to take concrete actions to stop what she called the “genocide” in Gaza.

Francesca Albanese spoke to delegates from 30 countries meeting in Colombia’s capital to discuss the Israel-Hamas war and ways that nations can try to stop Israel’s military offensive in the territory. Many of the participating nations have described the violence as genocide against the Palestinians.

“Each state must immediately review and suspend all ties with the State of Israel ... and ensure its private sector does the same,” Albanese said. “The Israeli economy is structured to sustain the occupation that has now turned genocidal.”

The two-day conference organized by the governments of Colombia and South Africa is being attended mostly by developing nations, although the governments of Spain, Ireland and China have also sent delegates.

Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.”

Analysts say it’s not clear whether the conference's participating countries have enough leverage over Israel to force it to change its policies in Gaza, where more than 58,000 people have been killed in Israeli military operations following a deadly Hamas attack on Israel in 2023. The death toll comes from the health ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas government and does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The UN and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.

“The United States has so far failed to influence Israel’s behavior ... so it is naive to think that this group of countries can have any influence over (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s behavior or on the government of Israel,” said Sandra Borda, a professor of international relations at Bogota’s Los Andes University.

She said, however, that the conference will enable some nations of the Global South to clarify their position toward the conflict and have their voices heard.

The conference is co-chaired by the governments of South Africa and Colombia, which last year suspended coal exports to Israeli power plants, and includes the participation of members of The Hague Group, a coalition of eight nations that earlier this year pledged to cut military ties with Israel and to comply with an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu.

For decades, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party has compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank with its own history of oppression under the harsh apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Blacks to “homelands” before ending in 1994.

South Africa’s current argument is rooted in the sentiment that Palestinians have been oppressed in their homeland as Black South Africans were under apartheid.

The gathering comes as the European Union weighs various measures against Israel that include a ban on imports from Israeli settlements, an arms embargo and individual sanctions against Israeli officials, who are found to be blocking a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Colombia’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Mauricio Jaramillo said Monday that the nations participating in the Bogota meeting, which also include Qatar and Türkiye, will be discussing diplomatic and judicial measures that can be taken to put more pressure on Israel to cease its attacks.

The Colombian official described Israel’s conduct in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as an affront to the international order.

“This is not just about Palestine” Jaramillo said in a press conference. “It is about defending international law... and the right to self-determination.”