Defense Minister Major General Murhaf Abu Qasra said Sunday that 31 soldiers of the Syrian Arab Army were martyred over the past nine months while they were clearing mines left by former regime across the country.
Minister Abu Qasra added in a post on X that 60 others were injured, including twelve amputations, during demining and dealing with unexploded ordnance.
“The men of the Syrian Arab Army are moving forward with unwavering determination and an unbreakable will to cleanse our homeland of mines and unexploded ordnance left behind by the defunct regime,” the minister said.
Mines pose a daily threat to the lives of citizens and hinder the return of residents to their liberated areas.