BEIRUT: Unexploded land mines left by Daesh fighters cover every inch of their former Syrian capital of Raqqa, a UN official said on Tuesday, advising civilians against returning to their homes there.
About 60,000 Syrians have returned to the ruins of Raqqa since Daesh left, Panos Moumtzis, UN assistant secretary general and regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syria Crisis, told reporters in Beirut.
“The number of unexploded ordnance in Raqqa is something that we have never seen before. Extreme. Every house, every room, every inch of the city,” he said.
Landmines are causing 50-70 casualties a week — about the number that usually hit all of Afghanistan in a year — he said.
Though the United Nations was not helping people to go back to Raqqa, it could not stop people returning spontaneously to homes which could harbor danger, he said.
An alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias backed by a US-led coalition captured Raqqa in November after a long campaign to besiege the city followed by months of fighting inside it.
As well as land mines and improvised explosives planted by Daesh, there may also be undetonated bombs and missiles used by the coalition in its massive blitz of Raqqa.
The jihadist group still holds a few scattered pockets in Syria and Iraq, but has lost almost all its possessions in the two countries, where at its height it ruled over millions of people.
As when attacked in other parts of its self-declared “caliphate,” it used many booby traps as a tactic against its advancing foes. But in Raqqa many of the hidden bombs appear aimed at civilians.
“It is vicious to think they are deliberately planted to kill, to kill civilians, to kill people,” said Moumtzis.
Refugees in Syria’s Raqqa face ‘extreme’ Daesh land mine threat: UN
Refugees in Syria’s Raqqa face ‘extreme’ Daesh land mine threat: UN
Syrian government foils Daesh plot to attack churches and New Year celebrations
- Bomber kills soldier in Aleppo, detonates explosives injuring 2 others
ALEPPO, DAMASCUS: The Syrian Interior Ministry announced on Thursday that it had thwarted a Daesh plot to carry out suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations and churches, particularly in Aleppo.
The ministry said in a statement that, as part of ongoing counterterrorism efforts and careful monitoring of Daesh cells in cooperation with partner agencies, it had received intelligence indicating plans for suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations in several provinces, particularly Aleppo, with a focus on churches and civilian gathering areas.
The ministry added that it took preemptive measures, including reinforcing security around churches, deploying mobile and fixed patrols, and setting up checkpoints across the city.
During operations at a checkpoint in Aleppo’s Bab Al-Faraj district, security forces intercepted a suspected Daesh member who opened fire. One internal security soldier was killed, and the attacker detonated explosives, injuring two others.
Daesh recently increased its attacks in Syria, and was blamed for an attack last month in Palmyra that killed three Americans.
On Dec. 13, two US soldiers and an American civilian were killed in an attack Washington blamed on a lone Daesh gunman in Palmyra.
In retaliation, American forces struck scores of Daesh targets in Syria.
Syrian authorities have also carried out several operations against Daesh since then, saying on Dec. 25 they had killed a senior leader of the group.
