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Syria

Last Updated: 15 November 2012

Mine Action

Contamination and Impact

Syria is contaminated by mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), including cluster munition remnants, a legacy of Arab-Israeli wars since 1948 and the ongoing non-international armed conflict.

Mines

In 2011 and 2012, Syrian government forces used antipersonnel landmines, while non-state armed groups used improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and claimed they would re-use mines recovered from Syrian positions.

In March 2012, Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented new mine use on the Turkish border near Hasanieih (PMN-2), Derwand, Jiftlek, Kherbet al-Joz toward Alzouf and al-Sofan, Armana, Bkafla, Hatya, Darkosh, Salqin and Azmeirin.[1] New landmine use has also been reported on the Lebanese border in al-Buni,[2] Tel Kalakh,[3] Kneissi,[4] Heet (PMN-2 and TMN-46 mines)[5] and Masharih al-Qaa.[6] Civilian casualties have been recorded from this mine use.

During 2012, there were reports of Syrian rebels manufacturing and using IEDs, primarily roadside bombs, as well as Molotov cocktails and remotely detonated devices.[7] Little is known about rebel use of victim-activated IEDs, which fall under the Mine Ban Treaty’s definition of an antipersonnel mine. In August 2012, a Syrian rebel told the media that they intended to re-use government-laid antipersonnel mines that have been removed from the ground.[8]

In addition, as a result of the 1973 war with Israel, large parts of the Golan Heights in Syria’s southwestern Quneitra governorate are heavily mined. The Golan Heights is divided into three areas consisting of a Syrian-controlled area, an Israeli-controlled area, and a buffer zone—the Area of Separation (AOS)—monitored by the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). UNDOF considers all areas not cleared or marked by the UN as potentially contaminated.[9] The UN has reported that in the “area of operation, especially in the vicinity of the ceasefire line, mines continue to pose a threat to UNDOF personnel and local inhabitants. Owing to the long-term presence of the mines and the deterioration of their detonation systems, the threat has increased.”[10]

In other regions of Syria, the level of contamination is unclear. Mines are also planted along the Jordanian and Turkish borders with Syria, but it is not known if any of these mines have migrated into Syrian territory as a result of soil movement or climatic effects.[11] Mine clearance was ongoing in Jordan in 2012 along the Syrian border with Syria’s consent, even though the delimitation of certain areas of the border has not been agreed upon by the two countries.[12]

On 15 May 2011, some 300 protesters from among a group of approximately 4,000 civilians, the vast majority Palestinians, crossed the ceasefire line, passed through an unmarked minefield, and broke through the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “technical fence.”[13] On 5 June, demonstrators, mostly young unarmed Palestinians, again amassed near the ceasefire line. Despite the presence of Syrian security forces, protestors attempted to breach the ceasefire line at two locations. The IDF used tear gas and smoke grenades to deter the protesters and live fire to prevent them crossing the ceasefire line. Several antivehicle mines exploded due to a brush fire apparently started by teargas or smoke grenade canisters, resulting in casualties among protesters. Syrian and Israeli firefighting squads and UNDOF extinguished the fire. Although UNDOF could not confirm the number of casualties during the 5 June events, up to 23 persons were reported killed and many more wounded.[14] In August 2011, there were reports of new mines being laid by Israel’s army along its border with Syria in an attempt to dissuade protesters from rushing into the Golan Heights.[15]

Cluster munition remnants and other explosive remnants of war

There were reports of new cluster munition use by Syrian armed forces in 2012. The extent of residual contamination is not yet known. In October 2012, for example, HRW reported new use near the main highway that runs through Ma’arat al-Nu’man, the site of a major confrontation between government and rebel forces.[16] In November 2012, the British broadcaster Sky News found “overwhelming evidence” that the Syrian regime was “using [Russian-made] cluster bombs against its own people.”[17] It reported “repeated denials” by the Syrian regime that it even possessed cluster munitions.

The Golan Heights is also contaminated with unexploded ordnance, including unexploded submunitions. The precise extent of the problem is not known.

Mine Action Program

There is no formal mine action program in Syria, no national mine action authority, and no mine action center. In recent years, UNDOF has carried out mine clearance for operational purposes in the AOS.

Land Release

There has been no release of land formerly suspected to be contaminated with mines, cluster munition remnants, or other ERW in Syria in recent years. It is not known if any new clearance has been conducted during the ongoing armed conflict.

 



[1] “Syria: Army Planting Banned Landmines: Witnesses Describe Troops Placing Mines Near Turkey, Lebanon Borders,” Human Rights Watch (HRW), 13 March 2012, http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/03/13/syria-army-planting-banned-landmines.

[2] “2 Syrian Nationals Wounded by Landmine at Northern Border-Crossing,” Naharnet, 9 February 2012, http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/29506-2-syrian-nationals-wounded-by-landmine-at-northern-border-crossing.

[3] See testimony of 15-year-old boy from Tal Kalakh who lost his right leg to a landmine. “Syria: Army Planting Banned Landmines: Witnesses Describe Troops Placing Mines Near Turkey, Lebanon Borders,” HRW, 13 March 2012, http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/03/13/syria-army-planting-banned-landmines.

[4] “Syrian farmer killed in mine explosion at Lebanon border,” The Daily Star, 17 December 2011, http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Dec-17/157169-syrian-farmer-killed-in-mine-explosion-at-lebanon-border.ashx#axzz28CfJlYqx.

[5] On March 9, The Washington Post published a photo of dirt-covered PMN-2 antipersonnel mines and TMN-46 antivehicle mines that it reported were planted by the Syrian army on the outskirts of the Syrian village of Heet.

[6] “Syria plants mines along Lebanon border,” The Daily Star, 13 June 2012, http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Jun-13/176712-syria-plants-mines-along-lebanon-border.ashx#ixzz1xuenvXvj. For information about an injury at an unidentified location on the Syria-Lebanese border, see “Lebanon-Syria border blast wounds 3,” Agence France-Presse, 29 July 2012, http://reliefweb.int/report/lebanon/lebanon-syria-border-blast-wounds-3-medic.

[7] BBC, “IED bombs new Syrian rebel strategy,” 23 June 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-18580175; CJ Chivers, “Syrian Rebels Hone Bomb Skills to Even the Odds,” The New York Times, 18 July 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/19/world/middleeast/syrian-rebels-hone-bomb-skills-military-analysis.html?pagewanted=all; Luke Harding and Ian Black, “Syria's rebels add explosives expertise to guerrilla tactics,” Guardian, 1 August 2012, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/31/syria-rebels-explosives-expertise-tactics; Christopher John Chivers, “Syria’s Dark Horses, With Lathes: Makeshift Arms Production in Aleppo Governorate, Part I,” The New York Times At War blog, 19 September 2012, http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/syrias-dark-horses-with-lathes-makeshift-arms-production-in-aleppo-governorate-part-i/.

[8] In an interview, an unidentified Syrian rebel stated, “We defuse the mines planted by the Assad army and we will plant these mines for his soldiers.” Jane Ferguson, “Syria rebels to reuse regime landmines,” Al Jazeera, 1 August 2012, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/20128145346410186.html.

[9] In order to carry out its mandate, UNDOF maintains an AOS which is some 80km long and varies in width between approximately 10km in the center to 200m in the extreme south. The terrain is hilly and is dominated in the north by Mount Hermon. UN, “UNDOF Background,” www.un.org.

[10] “Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force for the period from 1 January to 30 June 2011,” (New York: UN Security Council, 13 June 2011), S/2011/359, para. 11.

[11] Email from Maj. Andy McQuilkin, Commander, Task Force Golan Heights, UNDOF, 30 March 2007.

[12] Statement of Jordan, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 27 May 2009.

[13] “Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force for the period from 1 January to 30 June 2011,” (New York: UN Security Council, 13 June 2011), S/2011/359, para. 4.

[14] Ibid., para. 7.

[15] Associated Press, “Report: Israeli army planting new mines along Syria border to stop protesters from crossing,” Washington Post, 13 August 2011, www.washingtonpost.com.

[16] HRW, “Syria: New Evidence Military Dropped Cluster Bombs,” 14 October 2012, http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/10/14/syria-new-evidence-military-dropped-cluster-bombs.

[17] Alex Crawford, “Syria: Assad ‘Employing Cluster Bombs’ In War,” 9 November 2012, http://news.sky.com/story/1009015/syria-assad-employing-cluster-bombs-in-war.