Syrians returning home face the threat of landmines

Most of the deaths recorded since the fall of the Assad regime happened on the former front lines of the war, according to the White Helmets. Most of the people killed were men.

Mr. Talfah took us to two large fields full of land mines. Our car followed him on a long, narrow and winding dirt road. This is the only safe way to reach the fields.

Along the side of the road, children ran around the area. Hassan told us they were from a family that had just returned. But the dangers of mines surround them.

As we got out of the car, he pointed to an obstacle in the distance.

“This is the last point that separates the areas controlled by government forces from those held by opposition groups” in Idlib province, he told us.

He added that Assad’s forces planted thousands of mines in fields beyond the barrier, to stop rebel forces from advancing.

The fields around where we stand were once important agricultural land. Today, they are all barren, and there is no green vegetation to be seen except for the green tops of landmines that we can see with binoculars.

With no expertise in clearing land mines, all the White Helmets can do for now is to close these fields, and post signs along the border warning people.

They also spray-paint warning messages on dirt barriers and houses around the edges of the fields. “Danger – land mines ahead,” they read.

They lead a campaign to raise local residents’ awareness of the dangers of entering contaminated land.

On the way back, we found a farmer in his 30s who had just returned. He told us that some land belongs to his family.

“We can’t recognize anything,” Mohammed said. “We used to plant wheat, barley, cumin and cotton. Now we can’t do anything. And as long as we can’t cultivate this land, we will always be in a bad economic situation,” he added, clearly frustrated.