Damascus, Aug. 26 (SANA) Mundhir Ghazal was 25 when he returned to Syria, hoping to build a life that had been more than a decade in the making.
For over 10 years, Ghazal had lived in Mersin, Türkiye, with his parents and siblings, working in the vegetable trade. The second of his siblings, he was remembered by his family as hardworking, energetic, helpful and outgoing — someone his father relied on and valued for his initiative.
Well integrated into life in Türkiye, Ghazal nevertheless became eager to return to Syria after the fall of the ousted Assad regime. He had recently married, and he and his wife were expecting their first child.
On July 17, Ghazal was transporting tomatoes from a farm to market when an anti-tank mine detonated beneath his vehicle on an agricultural road southeast of al-Dumayr city, near an abandoned military position formerly used by the ousted regime.
According to his family, residents were aware of the mine threat and dangerous routes in the area. Ghazal’s uncle had advised him which road to take, but he took a shortcut.
The explosion killed him.
Mine threat persists around al-Dumayr
Ghazal’s death was not an isolated incident. Landmines and explosive remnants of war around former military positions near al-Dumayr continue to threaten civilians and restrict access to agricultural land.
The danger was highlighted again this week when a landmine exploded near a vehicle in the Oujan area east of al-Dumayr, injuring two people from Douma.
One suffered a leg amputation and a serious abdominal wound, while the other was also injured. Both were taken to al-Mouwasat Hospital in Damascus, according to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent’s al-Dumayr Ambulance Center.
Farmers face particular risks in contaminated areas. A Danish Refugee Council report cited by SANA in April said about 63% of recorded explosive-ordnance incidents occurred in agricultural and grazing areas, underscoring the danger to farmers and rural communities.
A nationwide threat
The danger extends beyond al-Dumayr. On August 11, two young men from Jayrud were killed when a landmine exploded as they rode a motorcycle near al-Nasiriyah Airbase in northeastern Damascus countryside.
A Syrian Network for Human Rights report issued on April 4 documented the deaths of at least 3,799 civilians, including 1,000 children and 377 women, from landmines and cluster munition remnants in Syria between March 2011 and April 2026.
Of those, 329 civilians, including 65 children and 29 women, were killed after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024.
Those working to remove the explosives have also paid a heavy price.
Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said in a post on X on September 28, 2025, that 31 Defense Ministry engineering personnel had been killed and 60 wounded during nine months of operations to clear landmines and unexploded ordnance left by the ousted regime. Twelve of the wounded suffered amputations, while engineering teams lost 16 vehicles in the field.
Clearance efforts continue
Mine-clearance work has continued in 2026. Teams from the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management carried out 981 operations to remove unexploded ordnance in the first half of the year, alongside surveys and risk-awareness activities.
In early August, Defense Ministry engineering teams destroyed 1,500 landmines from a minefield near Qarah in Damascus countryside as part of efforts to secure contaminated areas.
For Ghazal, however, the danger left by years of conflict had an immediate and irreversible cost.
After more than a decade away, he had returned to Syria newly married and preparing to become a father.
A week after his death, his son was born.
Faiad Jairoudieh/Muhammad Fares
