Experts say there are ‘fatal accidents’ occurring in Syria as ‘horribly vulnerable’ but hopeful people make the journey home through dangerous areas littered with landmines
Experts have warned they have “never seen anything” like it as hopeful Syrians dodge “mortal danger” to return home after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
Assad’s 24-year dictatorship was swept away by rebel forces this month and the ex-Syrian leader – who led a regime of brutal repression – is now cowering under the wing of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Jubilant scenes were seen on the streets of major cities and videos of cars clogging roads outside the capital of Damascus circulated on social media.
But years of civil war means Syria is riddled with minefields and returning displaced people could face a dicey dance with the rebel-won ground below their feet. Estimates by the UNHCR said that “thousands” of Syrians have been prompted to return following the developments, but experts say there have been “fatal accidents” with landmines.
HALO, an NGO that works to clear landmines left behind by conflicts across the globe, revealed a map that shows the extent of the intensity of minefields across the country. Major cities like the capital of Damascus, Homs, Idlib and Aleppo are all surrounded by minefields.
Damian O’Brien is the Syria programme manager for HALO. Mr O’Brien, who has decades of experience working in war zones, said returning Syrians are “horribly vulnerable”. He said: “I’ve never seen anything quite like it.
“Tens of thousands of people are passing through heavily mined areas on a daily basis causing unnecessary fatal accidents. The fighting forces have melted away from the front lines, leaving vast areas littered with explosives.”
In 2023, Syria recorded 933 deaths and injuries from landmines, the second highest in the world according to a report by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines released in November. The figures put the casualties at nearly double the number in Ukraine and Afghanistan.
While the future of Syria remains precarious and uncertain, many Syrians are hopeful following the fall of Assad. In a previous report by the Mirror, Jamal Ahmed, 33, who lives in Nottingham and has never been able to visit Syria, said he has a “gnawing ache of homesickness” and a “longing for a home I had never really known”.
His hope appears to be echoed by others. The UNHCR said “thousands of Syrian refugees have reportedly started returning” using the Masnaa border point with Lebanon, the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam border crossings from Türkiye and other “unofficial crossings”.
The UNHCR added: “At the same time, some Syrians have fled in the opposite direction into Lebanon… Millions more Syrian refugees are still trying to understand what the dramatic events of the last two weeks mean for them and their families.”
Mr O’Brien said: “Returning Syrians simply don’t know where the landmines are lying in wait. They are scattered across fields, villages and towns, so people are horribly vulnerable.
“But with funding for only forty deminers, HALO is desperately understaffed. We urgently need emergency funding to help bring the Syrian people home to safety. Clearing the debris of war is fundamental to getting the country back on its feet.”
Mouiad Alnofoly, HALO Syria Operations Manager, said: “In the past week, as people have tried returning to their homes and farmland, we have had a ten-fold increase in calls to the hotline. The phone is ringing non-stop.”
“Some of the callers are refugees coming back to Syria. Others are people who were displaced inside the country and are now making their way back home. But they’re all in mortal danger if they take the wrong pathway. None of them know where the landmines are hidden.”
Mr O’Brien said clearing mines across the whole of the country would need “thousands of Syrians trained and employed by HALO over many years”.
