Germany strengthens HALO Trust for mine clearance in Syria

The German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) has supported the HALO Trust in Syria with a grant of five million euros. Recent conflicts have led to millions of civilians in Syria being forcibly displaced; many of whom are now attempting to return to their homes in villages, towns and cities that have become battle grounds in the civil war. Many of these areas are now littered with landmines, tripwires and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), as well as other forms of unexploded ordnance (UXOs). The HALO Trust has been working in Syria since 2016, employing 40 demining experts to identify, defuse and controlled detonate reported explosives on the ground. According to James Cowan, Chief Executive Officer of the HALO Trust, the funding will be used to train more deminers and expand demining operations in north-west and south Syria, where the highest levels of casualties and contamination are reported. Since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2014, more than 640 landmine-related accidents and deaths have been reported, and it is estimated that an average of six children are killed each week by explosives.