Landmine disposal in Idlib, Syria

A video released to Al-Jazeera showed Syrian engineers and bomb disposal teams dismantling landmines laid during the Assad regime in the Idlib area, 59 kilometres south-west of Aleppo. In an interview with Faisal al-Hajji, a demining engineer, he said that the work was slow and difficult because the anti-personnel mines were buried under the ground and that several crew members had been killed or injured by the mines. He notes that several minefields were in agricultural areas and that farmers and farm workers returning to their land have been killed or seriously injured. At least 80 people have been killed by mine explosions since the fall of the Assad government in December. Local communities and deminers have appealed to the international community for assistance, citing the need for advanced bomb disposal equipment and specialised crews.