In Syria, after almost six years of conflicts as well as the growing impacts and occupation from the Islamic States (ISIS), there has seen some deadliest consequences caused by landmines and booby traps.

According to Landmine & Cluster Munition, the problems of mine contamination in Syria are a legacy of Arab-Israeli wars since 1948 and a consequence of the ongoing armed conflicts. Up to date, due to the armed fire across the country, there is no credible estimation of how much or to what extent does the mine contamination exists in Syria. One expert from Handicap International pointed out that the scale of the contamination might “take more than 30 years to eliminate the risk entirely.”

In 2016, there were dozens civilians killed by landmines left by ISIS fighters when they fled to Northern Syria. Mines are almost everywhere. It was located “in schools, fields, hospitals and on roads”, reported the Human Rights Watch.

Apart from the ISIS group, both the pro- and anti-government forces in Syria have been continuously using and planting mines. On Jan.31 2016, the United States secretary of State, John Kerry, condemned Asad- the Syrian president leading the governmental forces- his inhumane response to civilians with “a siege, landmines, barbed wire” to further constrain the already suffering Syrian civilians in the area of Madaya and other besieged towns. The plantation of landmines from Syrian army had started since 2012, according to Human Rights Watch report.

The Mines Advisory Group (MAG), which provides services to clear and destroy landmines in contaminated areas in Iraq and Syria said they had cleared over 11,000 newly laid landmines since 2016. However, they warned if the world does not take urgent action or there is no enough funding, many more civilians will lose their lives due to these indiscriminate killers; besides, it will cause obstacles for humanitarian aid to safely deliver to civilians in the besieged areas.

Turkey’s Department of Defence once announced in 2014 that there exists between 613,000 and 715,000 landmines along the Turkish-Syrian border. This number has been increasing until now.

United Nations indicated in their analysis that the extensive use of explosive weapons in the past years has posed serious threat to civilians. An estimation of 6.3 million people are living in areas affected by incidents elated to explosive weapons, while 88 per cent among them identified these explosive weapons are “a major protection concern”.

Eden Social Welfare Foundation joined the International Campaign to Ban Landmine in 1997 and has been dedicating to raise awareness for the importance of mine elimination and victim assistance. This year in 2017, it marks the 25-year anniversary since ICBL was founded. In September, it will also mark as the 20-year milestone since the Mine Ban Treaty came into being. It aims to push forward its work in the following years for a mine-free world by 2025.

A landmine exploded in Aleppo, Syria. 

Photo Credit: wikipedia open source