![]() The Syrian government periodically posts updates about operations to detonate explosives it blames on "terrorists," a term it uses to refer to Syrian opposition fighters, as well as footage of military exercises on restored farmland, usually in former opposition strongholds in the north of the country.īut in a new report mapping out the impact of Syria's decade of war on agricultural lands in the northwest, the French-based Radio Rozana found that all parties to the conflict had contributed to the destruction and pollution of land, soil, crops and trees. "These conditions apply to most agricultural land in large areas that the government has retaken in different parts of the country since 2014." "Much of the farmland is still deserted because the government is not making any effort to clear mines and the unexploded ordnance," a former farmer who worked in the area told MEE. Previously fertile lands near Damascus, once populated by crops and trees, were largely destroyed before being recaptured by government forces in 2018. Mines are still a danger in areas now back under Syrian government control. On other occasions, mines have been exploded by passing herds of livestock, killing dozens of animals. ![]() Mines have been detonated by tractors tilling the soil, killing or injuring farmers and often destroying vehicles at a catastrophic economic cost. The area was heavily mined by Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) forces before their withdrawal from Afrin in the face of a Turkish military offensive in early 2018. In April, unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices killed at least three civilians and injured at least five more in northwestern Syria, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Perennial trees have been cut down after being hit by shrapnel that spoiled their fruit," he said.įor farmers working to restore their lands to productivity, there are potential hazards with every step, posing a threat to more than just their livelihoods. The farmlands are filled with remnants of war. "Indiscriminate shelling has swept away the soil, making farmlands rocky and unfit for agriculture. "A Russian ballistic missile fell last month, destroying olive trees that are about 30 years old," Amin told Middle East Eye from his home in Jabal al-Zawiya, in the south of Idlib province. In rebel-held northwestern Syria, damage caused by Russian and Syrian government forces means the farmlands of Ahmed al-Amin and his neighbours are no longer suitable for cultivation.
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