Syria: Mine casualties persist as UN partners scale up clearance operations

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Explosive ordnance continues to claim lives across Syria, with more than 430 deaths and injuries reported since December, nearly a third of them children, according to Stéphane Dujarric, the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.  

“Mine action partners continue to report casualties due to explosive ordnance, and that is happening sadly on an almost daily basis,” Mr. Dujarric explained in a press briefing on Monday in New York.

Farmers and shepherds are particularly vulnerable. Since January, more than 60 people have been killed and over 90 injured, many while tending to their land or grazing animals.

Clearance efforts underway 

With hostilities subsiding in some areas, humanitarian partners have been expanding mine action work in newly accessible regions.

Since December, over 1,400 unexploded ordnance items have been safely disposed of, and 138 minefields and contaminated areas identified in Idleb, Aleppo, Hama, Deir-ez-Zor and Lattakia.

On Monday, UN partners visited a farm in Darayya, Rural Damascus, that had been cleared with support from the Syria Humanitarian Fund. This work is critical to enabling farmers to safely return to their land.

Aid and diplomacy continue 

Meanwhile, humanitarian aid operations remain uninterrupted.

Over the weekend, 40 trucks carrying nearly 1,000 metric tonnes of food from the World Food Programme (WFP) crossed from Türkiye into northwest Syria through the Bab Al-Hawa border crossing – assistance sufficient for more than 270,000 people.

UN partners have also increased the import of food and other aid from Jordan since the start of the year.

On the diplomatic front, UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen is set to visit Damascus this week following meetings at the Munich Security Conference. 

There, he stressed the need for an inclusive, Syrian-led political process and urged all parties to uphold their commitments on women’s rights. 

“[The UN] calls on all parties in Syria to uphold their international commitments, respect the rights and dignity of women, and to ensure their full participation in shaping the country’s future,” Mr. Dujarric said.  

This includes ensuring access to education, freedom of movement, political representation and protection from violence and exploitation.