DAMASCUS, Syria – In a relentless and perilous campaign to reclaim the country from the debris of war, specialized teams from the Civil Defense, under the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management, have carried out 2,370 bomb disposal operations since the beginning of the year. These operations target the vast quantities of unexploded ordnance (UXO) left behind by the former regime and its allies, which litter cities, farmland, and infrastructure across Syria.
Sami al-Muhammad, director of the Civil Defense's War Remnants Removal Program, provided SANA with a detailed breakdown of the effort, revealing the monumental scale of the task. He reported that during the same period, the teams safely destroyed 2,621 individual pieces of UXO, ranging from landmines to cluster bomblets. Furthermore, through systematic technical surveys, they have identified 900 new contaminated sites added to a growing national registry of dangerous zones.
A Race Against Time: Awareness as a First Line of Defense
Recognizing that clearance alone is insufficient, the Civil Defense has launched a massive parallel effort in community outreach. Al-Muhammad stated that more than 10,000 educational awareness sessions on the dangers of war remnants have been conducted, directly benefiting approximately 23,000 civilians. Critically, the vast majority of those reached—over 20,000—are children, who are uniquely vulnerable due to their curiosity and lack of awareness.
"The remnants are often colorful or strangely shaped, attracting a child's eye. Our sessions in schools and communities teach them the vital rule: 'Don't touch, don't approach, report to an adult,'" al-Muhammad explained, highlighting the preventative nature of this work.
A Daunting Operational Landscape
The director emphasized that Civil Defense personnel are continuing their work despite severe "field challenges." These challenges are multifaceted and include:
Logistical and Technical Hurdles: A lack of advanced detection equipment and protective gear in many areas.
The Nature of the Threat: Many of the remnants are cluster munitions, particularly those used by Russian and former regime forces. These bomblets have a high failure rate, creating large, unpredictable contamination fields. They are small, unstable, and notoriously difficult to clear.
Funding Shortfalls: The multi-billion dollar, decade-long task of clearing Syria is severely underfunded. International donors have pledged limited amounts, but it falls far short of the need, as reported by organizations like the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS).
Access Issues: Many contaminated areas are still active conflict zones or are laced with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) laid by non-state actors, making safe access for clearance teams impossible.
A Humanitarian Crisis with Economic Consequences
The contamination is not just a safety issue; it is a major barrier to recovery. The widespread presence of explosives in agricultural land prevents farmers from planting, exacerbating the country's food crisis. In cities, it hinders the reconstruction of homes, schools, and hospitals, slowing the return of millions of displaced Syrians.
Al-Muhammad urged all residents to remain vigilant, avoid any suspicious objects, and report them immediately to specialized teams. The work of these teams represents a continuous, life-saving necessity—a slow and dangerous process of healing the land to ensure a safe environment and pave the way for the stable return of citizens to their homes.
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