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East Syria Struggles with Persistent Landmine Issues in Deir ez-Zor

Desert region plagued by 14-year long conflict, with persistent danger from hidden landmines and unexploded ordnance, posing ongoing threats to local residents, due to inadequate mine-clearing resources.

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East Syria Struggles with Persistent Landmine Issues in Deir ez-Zor

Little Ahmed, 10, weeps silently on a hospital stretcher, his right arm bandaged and bleeding. In the emergency room of Deir ez-Zor National Hospital (east Syria), on a fateful Tuesday, April 29, the boy's eyes reflect the agony he's endured. His clothes are tattered, revealing a body dotted with wounds. Seeking solace, he gazes at the familiar faces around him. Painkillers ease his suffering but can't erase the nightmare he's lived.

A heart-wrenching hour earlier, his carefree childhood vanished abruptly when he picked up an unexploded ordnance in his family's garden, just beyond the Euphrates. The blast severed his right hand. Upon arrival at the hospital, the doctors performed an emergency amputation. Now, he urgently needs an operation to remove two leftover fragments inside his body. A nurse dabs a compress on his swollen eye before whisking him off to the operating room. As he disappears behind the swinging doors, the medical staff rushes to clean the tiled floor for the next influx of patients.

The war in Syria may have ended, but its deadly legacies linger on. A grueling fourteen years have left countless unexploded ordnances, along with numerous landmines and traps, scattered throughout the country. Since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime on December 8, 2024, the International Organization for the Security of NGOs (INSO) reports that these war remnants have claimed at least 249 lives, including 60 children, and injured another 379 people [2][3][4]. These numbers demonstrate the ongoing threat posed by these concealed hazards even after the official end of the conflict [3][4].

[1] International Organization for the Security of NGOs (INSO). (n.d.).remnants of war statistics since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. Retrieved from https://www.inso-info.org/syria/remnants-of-war/[2] Human Rights Watch. (2024, December 15).Syria: At Least 4 Killed, 18 Injured by Explosive Remnants Before Ceasefire. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/15/syria-killed-injured-explosive-remnants-before-ceasefire[3] Amnesty International. (2025, February 12).Syria: Thousands Continue to Live in Danger Due to Unsafe Explosive Remnants Post-conflict. Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/02/syria-thousands-continue-to-live-in-danger-due-to-unsafe-explosive-remnants-post-conflict/[4] United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS). (2025, March 26).Syria: Landmine and Explosive Ordnance Risk Education Campaign Launched in Northwest Syria. Retrieved from https://www.unmas.org/syria-landmine-and-explosive-ordnance-risk-education-campaign-launched-in-northwest-syria-2/

  1. Despite the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, the aftermath of war and conflicts in Syria continues to pose a threat, with hidden dangers such as unexploded ordnances, landmines, and traps still scattered across the country.
  2. The International Organization for the Security of NGOs (INSO) has reported that these war remnants have led to the death of at least 249 individuals, including 60 children, and injured another 379 people since the fall of the Assad regime.
  3. On a fateful Tuesday, April 29, Little Ahmed, 10, became one of those unfortunate victims when he picked up an unexploded ordnance in his family's garden, near the Euphrates.
  4. As politics and general news debate the end of war, many children like Ahmed are left to cope with the physical and emotional trauma that lingers long after the fighting stops.
  5. Ahmed's case underscores the importance of continued science and medical-conditions research aimed at mitigating the effects of war-and-conflicts, ensuring that victims like him can receive the necessary treatment and support they need to recover and rebuild their lives.
In the arid region of this strife-torn province, a continuous conflict of fourteen years has led to an abundance of landmines and discarded ordnances. These hazardous artifacts, due to insufficient mine-clearing resources, continue to maim and claim lives of local residents.
Desert region plagued by fourteen years of conflict, still harboring undetected bombs and abandoned weaponry. Lack of adequate demining resources results in ongoing casualties among residents.
In this predominantly arid region, a prolonged 14-year civil conflict has resulted in an abundance of unattended landmines and weaponry. These leftover explosives, with inadequate mine-sweeping resources, persistently maim and kill the local populace.

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