'I thought I'd died.' How land mines are continuing to claim lives in post-Assad Syria

Los Angeles Times - 21/04
Land mines and other unexploded remnants of war continue to pose a deadly threat across Syria, causing widespread casualties and long-term harm.

IDLIB, Syria — Suleiman Khalil was harvesting olives in a Syrian orchard with two friends four months ago, unaware the soil beneath them still hid deadly remnants of war.

The trio suddenly noticed a mine lying on the ground. Panicked, Khalil and his friends tried to leave, but he stepped on a land mine and it exploded. His friends, terrified, ran to find an ambulance. Khalil thought they had abandoned him.

“I started crawling, then the second land mine exploded,” Khalil, 21, told the Associated Press. “At first, I thought I’d died. I didn’t think I would survive this.”

Khalil’s left leg was badly wounded in the first explosion, and the second blast blew off his right from above the knee. He used his shirt as a tourniquet on the stump and scream...
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