Syria: Emergency Minister, International Organizations discuss structure of National Mine Action Center

Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed al-Saleh discussed with representatives of international organizations and UN agencies the draft work plan for the National Mine Action Center in Syria and its structure, in line with humanitarian priorities and international practices. Read More …

Syria: People killed and injured by landmines in Deir ez-Zor as they return home

People returning to their war-torn homes and villages in Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, are being wounded or even killed after encountering unexploded devices. Between 28 May and 1 June, four incidents resulted in eight casualties, including the deaths of four Read More …

Syria: War remnants kill, injure 13 people in one day in areas controlled by Damascus government

Unexploded ordnance continues to threaten the lives of civilians in areas controlled by the Damascus government, especially in areas that witnessed previous fighting. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that yesterday, Wednesday, four people, including two children, were killed Read More …

Lessons Learned from Iraq and Syria Debris Management and Rubble Clearance

Drawing from MAG’s 30 years of experience in Iraq and its work in post-ISIS clearance operations in northeastern Syria, this paper explores the progress still needed and the lessons learned from past efforts. Since the ISIS offensive in 2014, MAG’s Read More …

€5m German boost for HALO landmine clearance in Syria

HALO’s programme will expand to save lives across the country in response to soaring accidents caused by explosives The German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) supports the HALO Trust in Syria with a €5M grant to boost vital mine clearance efforts Read More …

Israel carrying out mine-clearing operation near Syria border

The Defense Ministry says it is carrying out activities to clear explosives from an area of the Golan Heights near the Syrian border today. Crews are being deployed to areas around the community of Ein Zivan to clear mines and Read More …

Syria: Mine casualties persist as UN partners scale up clearance operations

“Mine action partners continue to report casualties due to explosive ordnance, and that is happening sadly on an almost daily basis,” Mr. Dujarric explained in a press briefing on Monday in New York. Farmers and shepherds are particularly vulnerable. Since Read More …

Ukraine’s minefields must be a priority at Munich meeting

Clearing the deadly debris of war should be a key goal of delegates at the Munich Security Conference, the head of the world’s largest landmine clearance charity, The HALO Trust, said today. HALO CEO and former British General James Cowan: Read More …

Syria: Explosive remnants of civil war pose a daunting challenge

Almost 14 years of civil war contaminated swathes of the Syrian Arab Republic with roughly 324,600 unexploded rockets and bombs and thousands of landmines, according to a 2023 estimate by the US-based Carter Center. In the last four years alone, Read More …

Syria: Legacy of war still causing mass death and injury, says landmine clearance charity

At least 80 civilians, including 12 children, have been killed by landmines and other explosive debris of war in the month since the Syrian strongman Bashar Al-Assad was toppled on December 8 last year. According to Mouiad Alnofaly, HALO’s Operations Read More …

Israel strikes weapon and missile depots in Syria

Israel has reportedly carried out multiple strikes on missile and weapon depots in the Syrian port city of Tartus, located near the Lebanon-Syria border, Arab media outlets reported on Sunday night. According to the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese news outlet Al Mayadeen, Read More …

Syria: Expert warns of ‘massive’ risk from unexploded ordnance

The extent of unexploded ordnance littering Syria will be “massive” and poses a particular threat to children returning to the country, a landmine-clearing leader has warned. Since the fall of the Assad regime last weekend, the Halo Trust has seen Read More …

Leveraging new technology for a mine-free future

The devastating legacy of armed conflict – often marked by the indiscriminate use of landmines, improvised explosive devices and other explosive ordnance – poses a significant humanitarian challenge. Innovation in mine action With over 25 years of experience, UNOPS has Read More …

Syria: Five seriously injured in mine explosion in Shehba

Five people were seriously injured in a mine explosion in the canton of Afrin-Shehba on Friday. According to security forces, the victims, who belong to the same family, are four adults between the ages of 20 and 50 and a Read More …

Halo calls for emergency £1M as syrians fleeing Lebanon return to land ridden with explosives

The global landmine clearance charity The HALO Trust has issued an emergency appeal for £1m to prevent former Syrian refugees returning from Lebanon encountering deadly munitions in their homeland. Exactly one month since conflict escalated in Lebanon, more than 400,000 Read More …

Canada supports peace and stability in Middle East, Africa and Central Asia

On September 30, 2024, the Government of Canada announced more than $38.3 million in funding for a total of 15 projects to support security, peace and stability in the Middle East and Central Asia. Through the Peace and Stabilization Operations Read More …

Belgium gives new contribution of €1.5 million to humanitarian demining in Iraq and Syria

In the framework of support given since 2019 to the activities of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq and Syria, Belgium has decided on a new contribution of 1.5 million euros in 2024. In recent years, Belgium has Read More …

Landmines: New Use Despite Global Ban

Russia, Myanmar, and Ukraine have used antipersonnel landmines in the past year, and armed groups used them in at least five countries, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing Landmine Monitor 2023, the annual report about the international treaty to Read More …

Belgium allocates €1.5 million for mine clearance in Iraq and Syria

Belgium has allocated another €1.5 million to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) for its operations in Iraq and Syria to help the region tackle the lingering presence of explosive ordnances. Devastated by foreign intervention, ISIS and civil wars, Read More …

Top UN official calls for immediate halt to cluster bomb use

A top official of the United Nations Mine Action Service has appealed to the world to stop using cluster munitions. UNMAS director Ilene Cohn spoke to NHK on Friday while visiting Tokyo. Both Russia and Ukraine have been using cluster Read More …