LONDON: When more than 200,000 people fled from Lebanon into neighboring Syria to escape the latest escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, many were unaware of the silent danger lurking underfoot, scattered across farmland and border areas.
Syria ranks among the world’s most heavily mine-contaminated countries. The main crossing point at Jdeidet Yabous feeds directly into rural Damascus governorate, one of the worst affected regions in the country.
The 2025 Landmine Monitor places Syria second globally in unexploded ordnance casualties.
Since December 2024, when many displaced families began returning to their towns and villages following the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime, the HALO Trust has recorded more than 700 deaths resulting from UXO, more than 200 of them children, and 1,900 injuries.
Within a year of Assad’s downfall, more than 1.8 million internally displaced Syrians and 780,000 refugees had returned home, according to UN figures. Now the country is absorbing yet another wave.
