Extensive contamination

As Syrians return home following the fall of Bashar al-Assad one year ago, many are coming back to not only destroyed neighbourhoods and collapsed services, but to one of the most heavily contaminated landscapes of unexploded ordnance in the world. Syria now ranks among the world’s most contaminated countries, as mine experts estimate more than 1 million munitions have been used there since 2011, with a failure rate of 10-30%. Those that did not explode now lie beneath soil, rubble and farmland, posing grave risks. Preliminary figures indicate a steep rise in serious incidents with large-scale returns of refugees and internally displaced people. Between Dec. 8, 2024, and Nov. 21, 2025, the United Nations Mine Action Service recorded 849 explosive ordnance accidents, resulting in 1,568 casualties - 581 deaths and 987 injuries