Reports | 25 05 2020
Many land and orchards in Daraa and its countryside, are no longer planted with only vegetables, but also with deadly mines and war’s remnants.
Osama and his friends went out to visit their farms in the countryside, and all of a sudden, an explosion occurred, and his right leg has injured.
The young man says, "that time, I was unconscious, two days later I woke up in the hospital, my right leg was amputated, and there was more than a case of amputation in the region where I live, because of the mines."
Some solutions to avoid the danger!
There was a glimmer of hope among those who affected by the remnants of war, to find a solution to the problem of mines planted extensively in the areas controlled by the opposition in Daraa. And that after the formation of a battalion called “Engineering Brigades” affiliated with the opposition fighters, what helped to mitigate the injuries and save lives, as much as possible.
Raafat al-Khatib, a soldier in the engineering battalions, who attended a course of mine dismantle, and was able to dismantle many of them, but he lacks the experience to deal with the remnants of cluster bombs.
He explains, "We have learned how to deal with the cluster hit the unarmed civilians during the battles, many people were victims of the cluster mines, and we also hope that we can specialize in the cluster bombs, in order to help the people here."
Dangers to the specialists
However, the members of the Engineering Brigades are always in danger while searching for mine in Daraa and its countryside, the first error is the last one, these errors caused the death of many specialists in this field.
Abu Mohammed, an official in the Engineering Brigade, was injured while working, stressing that this work is full of risks.
"a cluster bomb exploded during the dismantle operation, as a result of a personal mistake of a young man, that resulted in injuring both of us. Thanks God, it was a minor injury”. confirms Abu Mohammed.
The man insists to continue his work despite the danger, because his goal is to save what can be saved of lives.
The causes of danger
A lot of Daraa’s people lost their lives because of the remnants of war, according to "Yasin Abu Sarhan," a civil defense official in Daraa.
He explains, that the opposition forces asserted control over the military barracks and checkpoints affiliated with the Syrian Regime Army; who has left behind mines in the fields and farms.
"These mines caused danger for farmers who go to their farms, and several cases of explosion has occurred there, in the areas “Taseel” and the western and eastern areas that used to be under the Syrian Regime Forces control before”. confirms Abu Yassin.
And because of the lack of plans, planning the mining has become random, and leaded to the injury of civilians who were to reach for their farms.
Abu Yassin said that 35 people were injured by mines recently, and cluster bombs which caused by airline bombing, which is prevalent in areas has been bombed by the Syrian regime. He explained: "There is a plan for training specialized team in Daraa province by the Civil Defense about dismantling mines, and cluster bombs and how to deal with it, and this team will be subject to high-level courses on how to deal with the remnants of war and unexploded ordnance."
Threat remains imminent citizens anywhere, but life must be continued whatever the dangers were, as a lot of the people of Daraa say, but the lack of experience in dealing with the remnants of war, remains intact!