Teaching Syria's Children the Dangers of Landmines and Unexploded Ordnance
After 14 years of brutal conflict in Syria, an estimated 5 million children are living in high-risk areas where deadly landmines and unexploded ordnance threaten every step they take outside their homes.
Abdul, 12, was playing football with friends in a field behind his house in Hama, Syria when one of them stepped on something shiny on the ground. The blast that followed killed Abdul's 15-year-old cousin Mohamed and injured Abdul and his 10-year-old brother, who sustained multiple fractures to their legs and arms. They can no longer walk without help. Both are deeply traumatized.
Their stories are far too common. Over the past nine years, more than 422,000 incidents involving unexploded ordnance (UXO) have been reported in 14 Governorates across Syria, with half estimated to have ended in tragic child casualties. Across the country, children face this lurking, often invisible and extremely deadly threat.
Video: Keeping Syria's children safe from deadly remnants of war
A landscape of death and danger
More than a decade of devastating conflict has left communities across Syria littered with an estimated 324,000 pieces of UXO — bombs, mortars, grenades, missiles or other devices. UNICEF continues to push for increased humanitarian demining efforts to remove deadly remnants of war and make communities safe again.
UNICEF-supported risk education programs teach communities and children how to recognize and avoid landmines and UXO. Children who attend awareness sessions become familiar with the common types and shapes of explosive ordnance and learn to stay away from strange-looking objects. They also receive psychosocial support and psychological first aid to help them cope with the fear and trauma they experience after seeing friends killed and injured by explosive devices.
Learn more about UNICEF's work for children in Syria.
Children born into war should not have to live the rest of their lives in fear of being blown up by leftover explosives
In 2025, UNICEF plans to reach more than 653,000 children and caregivers with landmine or other explosive weapons prevention and/or survivor assistance interventions. More funding is urgently needed.
"There is no hope for reconstruction in Syria when there is so much destruction still lying in wait on the ground," UNICEF Communication Manager Ricardo Pires said in January 2025. "Syria cannot move past this horrific war if children remain at risk of walking outside their doors and being blown up by explosives."
There is no hope for reconstruction in Syria when there is so much destruction still lying in wait on the ground. — UNICEF's Ricardo Pires
"Every day without action is another that threatens the children of Syria," Pires continued. "These children — who have lived their entire lives in danger — deserve to live the rest of their lives in safety."
Right now, the lives of the most vulnerable children hang in the balance as conflicts and crises jeopardize the care and protection that they deserve. Dependable, uninterrupted and effective foreign aid is critical to the well-being of millions of children. Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to support ongoing U.S. investments in foreign assistance.
HOW TO HELP
There are many ways to make a difference
War, famine, poverty, natural disasters — threats to the world's children keep coming. But UNICEF won't stop working to keep children healthy and safe.
UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories — more places than any other children's organization. UNICEF has the world's largest humanitarian warehouse and, when disaster strikes, can get supplies almost anywhere within 72 hours. Constantly innovating, always advocating for a better world for children, UNICEF works to ensure that every child can grow up healthy, educated, protected and respected.
Would you like to help give all children the opportunity to reach their full potential? There are many ways to get involved.
