Shafaq News – Damascus

Syrian engineering teams cleared eight tons of unexploded ordnance from al-Ghab Plain in Hama province in a single day.

Engineer Salah Abdul Ghani, a volunteer in the clearance effort, told Shafaq News the operation represented “not only a technical achievement but also a symbolic milestone, demonstrating real determination to rehabilitate devastated areas and pave the way for long-awaited security and economic stability.” He added that the success in al-Ghab could open the door to similar campaigns in Syria’s north and east, where overlapping local and international military presence complicates clearance work.

The authorities in Hama confirmed that engineering units from the Ministry of Defense’s 62nd Division carried out the operation and are continuing clearance in the area.

Al-Ghab, once among Syria’s most productive agricultural zones, has become a “silent killing field,” with farmers unable to cultivate land for fear of hidden mines and shells.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that since the fall of the al-Assad regime on December 8, 2024, at least 615 civilians have been killed and 668 injured by mines and unexploded ordnance, including 168 children and 42 women.

Most of the victims were recorded in government-controlled areas, where 476 people lost their lives, among them 125 children and 25 women, while 488 were injured. Among the dead were eight civilians, including a woman and a child, who were killed while collecting truffles. In areas held by the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration, 41 people were killed and 67 injured, while Turkish-backed opposition territories recorded 98 fatalities and 107 injuries.

The United Nations considers Syria one of the world’s most contaminated countries, with millions of mines and unexploded devices scattered across provinces such as Aleppo, Hama, Raqqa, Deir al-Zor, and Hasakah.