Team:Edinburgh/mapxmlsyria



Syria <![CDATA[Contamination by mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) originates from Syrian involvement in the Arab-Israeli wars in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973. As a result of the 1973 war with Israel, large parts of the Golan Heights in Syria’s southwestern Quneitra governorate are heavily mined. In addition to the presence of both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines, the Golan Heights is contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO), including (cluster) submunitions.

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. UNDOF officials have previously reported estimates of 500,000 landmines in the AOS. One unconfirmed estimate has suggested there are at least 76 minefields in the Golan Heights; it is believed this refers only to the AOS. In other regions of Syria, the severity of the landmine threat 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 strayed across the border into Syrian territory.

In terms of impact, in UNDOF’s area of operation, especially in the AOS, the UN continues to report that mines affect UNDOF personnel and local inhabitants. UNDOF has claimed that the long-term presence of the mines and the “deterioration of their detonation systems” have increased the threat.

In 2007, there were at least 11 new mine/ERW casualties, including two killed, one injured, and eight whose status was unknown. Nine were civilians and two were Syrian military demining casualties. As in previous years, children playing were the largest casualty group (six); other casualties were men. Three casualties were caused by an antivehicle mine, and eight by unknown devices. Eight casualties were recorded by the Quneitra Health Directorate between January and June 2007 and three by Syrian media. It is unknown if four children injured in early 2007 while playing with a BLU-26 submunition were included in the Quneitra Health Directorate data.

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