Damascus, Sept. 9 (SANA) Children across Syria continue to face the dangers posed by landmines and explosive remnants of war, as awareness, survey and clearance efforts seek to protect them and ensure their safe return to areas contaminated by remnants left behind by the ousted regime.
324,000 explosive remnants: Where does the danger lie?
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that around 324,000 landmines and explosive remnants of war remain in Syria, while approximately 5 million children live in contaminated areas.
According to a UNICEF report covering the period from December 8, 2024, to February 28, 2026, 1,051 incidents involving explosive ordnance were recorded, resulting in 1,891 casualties, including 698 people killed and 1,193 injured.
Children accounted for 205 of those killed and 480 of those injured.
In a subsequent UNICEF update included in its 2026 appeal, the number of children reported killed since December 2024 had risen to 252, while the number injured reached 601.
Explosive remnants are not confined to former battlefields. They may be found in fields, along roads, inside homes and damaged buildings, as well as near schools and playgrounds, exposing children to danger while playing, going to school or exploring abandoned areas.
A suspicious object in a child’s path: What should they do?
The risks increase as families return to their areas of origin, where children may encounter objects whose nature or danger they do not recognize.
Awareness programs therefore emphasize a clear rule: Do not approach, touch or move a suspicious object. Move away, warn others and report it to the relevant authorities.
Mayada Khashfeh, assistant principal of Al-Hikma First School in the Darayya area, told SANA that students’ awareness of the dangers posed by explosive remnants of war and how to respond to them had improved noticeably as a result of awareness campaigns carried out by relevant authorities and organizations.
She said students had become particularly more aware of the need not to approach or touch suspicious objects and to report them.
Khashfeh said incidents involving abandoned objects in damaged buildings had contributed to greater awareness among children and parents. She stressed the importance of teachers and families in reinforcing prevention messages and incorporating them continuously into lessons and educational activities.
She also called for stronger awareness programs at schools near affected areas, particularly recently reopened schools, while ensuring that their surroundings are safe and making use of programs provided by specialized organizations and relevant authorities.
Khashfeh said lectures supported by stories, visual materials and videos were among the most effective ways of conveying information to children. Engagement increases, she added, when sessions include practical and training components that safely familiarize children with the appearance of some explosive remnants and teach them how to respond if they encounter a suspicious object.
She said Al-Hikma First School had received no reports of suspicious objects inside the school or in its surroundings. Similar cases, however, had been reported at other schools, including the discovery of objects resembling toys or other familiar items containing explosive remnants of war, underscoring the need for continued awareness efforts.
From school to home: How can families protect their children?
Maher Khdeir, a parent living in Zamalka, said explosive remnants of war continued to pose a danger, particularly to children.
His family had not seen suspicious objects near their home but had heard reports of them in other areas, prompting greater caution when children play or move through destroyed and uninhabited areas.
Khdeir said his family teaches its children not to touch or move unknown objects, to move away from them and immediately notify their parents, teachers or the relevant authorities.
He stressed the importance of families and schools working together to protect children and reinforce safety messages.
707,199 children received safety messages
Awareness efforts are not limited to responding to incidents but form an essential part of continuous prevention work.
During 2025, 707,199 children in Syria benefited from explosive ordnance risk education programs as part of broader protection programs that reached 918,484 children.
The programs use interactive methods, visual materials and child-appropriate activities to help children recognize dangerous objects, keep a safe distance from them and report them safely.
Such awareness provides children with an immediate means of protection until explosive remnants can be cleared from contaminated areas.
981 clearance operations, 369 surveys and 631 awareness sessions
The Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management addresses explosive remnants of war through an integrated approach encompassing surveys, responses to reports, clearance, awareness activities and the safe disposal of explosive remnants.
During the first half of 2026, explosive-remnants clearance and mine-action teams carried out 981 operations to remove unexploded ordnance, along with 369 non-technical surveys and 631 awareness sessions aimed at strengthening public understanding of the risks and ways to prevent accidents.
Survey operations and responses to reports help identify areas where explosive remnants may be present and allow them to be addressed before civilians enter those areas.
Awareness efforts, meanwhile, provide immediate protection for residents, particularly children, until contaminated areas can be fully cleared.
Three years toward a national mine-action strategy
As part of efforts to build a long-term national response, the National Mine Action Center at the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management is developing an integrated three-year national strategy to clear Syrian territory of mines and unexploded ordnance, while building sustainable national capacity and developing operational systems and regulatory standards.
Raed Hassoun, head of the Clearance Department at the center, said the strategy is based on establishing a national information system, building capacity, conducting surveys and clearance operations, and developing regulatory standards.
He explained that the center is responsible for oversight, coordination and quality assurance and does not have its own field clearance teams.
Hassoun said German drones were being tested for technical surveys and modern mine-clearing machines were being trialed.
He identified the vast extent of contamination, along with shortages of personnel, equipment and financial support, as among the main challenges facing mine-action efforts.
Geneva: From planning to partnership in mine action
A conference on mine action in Syria was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from June 22 to 24, 2026, chaired by Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed al-Saleh.
The conference discussed the extent of contamination by mines, unexploded ordnance and explosive remnants of war, efforts to address the threat, key challenges, response priorities and ways to strengthen international cooperation.
Al-Saleh said mine clearance is a national priority linked to protecting civilians, creating conditions for the return of displaced people and supporting reconstruction.
Conference sessions addressed ways to develop national capacities and expand survey, clearance and awareness operations.
International partnerships in the sector are also continuing. They include a project launched by the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management and the Ministry of Agriculture in partnership with the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with Japanese funding.
The project aims to clear mines and unexploded ordnance and rehabilitate agricultural infrastructure in affected areas.
More than 110,000 mines and war remnants cleared
Statistics from the Ministry of Defense showed that military engineering regiments of the Syrian Arab Army had dismantled or destroyed more than 110,000 mines and explosive remnants of war across the country since the beginning of 2026, as part of efforts to clear contaminated areas and make them safe.
The importance of these operations extends beyond security. Clearing contaminated land allows residents to return, farming to resume and facilities and services to restart.
For children, it means regaining their ability to reach school, play and move around in a safer environment.
While clearing explosive remnants scattered across Syria requires time, specialized teams, technology and international support, awareness remains the fastest protective measure to reach children.
Surveys identify the danger, clearance removes it and modern technologies can accelerate the work, but awareness can prevent an accident before it happens: “Do not touch. Do not approach. Move away. Warn others and report it to the relevant authorities.”
Protecting children therefore begins at school, at home and within the community, and continues until the land is fully safe.
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