'I saw the fire, then heard the blast': Deraa's fields peppered with explosives from Syria's civil war
In a former quarry surrounded by farmland outside the city of Deraa in southern Syria, experts are preparing to detonate an unexploded Russian missile left over from the war. A shepherd discovered it a few days earlier in a nearby field. Everything involving the detonation is carefully calculated: the missile's size and its location above ground help determine that the blast radius will be 250…
In Deraa, Syria, experts are preparing to detonate a Russian missile that was left behind from the country's civil war. The shepherd who discovered it earlier in a nearby field carried it to the quarry. The blast radius of the detonation is 250 meters, and dangerous fragments could travel up to 900 meters. Sandbags surround the missile to absorb the explosion.
The timing of the detonation is carefully planned, but moving the shepherds out of the way still depends on their decision. Most shepherds in the area are familiar with the dangers of explosives, but many still allow their flocks to graze in dangerous fields. Since the fall of the Assad regime, over 800 people have been killed and 2,300 injured by unexploded munitions in the area.
Hussein Qazhali, who leads Halo’s operations in southern Syria, is compelled to conduct this work after years as a paramedic. They gather information from the local community and use drone imaging to locate potential mines or unexploded devices. The new Syrian government's struggle to establish control in Deraa has led to ongoing insecurity and increased risk for residents returning to their homes.
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