Mine ban policy overview

Policy

The Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. Its position has not changed in recent years. While expressing concern for the plight of mine victims and support for risk education and other efforts to protect civilians, the Syrian government has stated that it views antipersonnel mines as necessary weapons for national defense and considers Israel’s continued annexation/occupation of part of the Golan Heights as a key reason for not joining the treaty.[1]

Syria did not attend any Mine Ban Treaty meetings in 2012 or during the first half of 2013. It has rarely participated in Mine Ban Treaty meetings as an observer, and has not done so since 2006.[2]

Syria is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

Syria is not known to have produced or exported antipersonnel mines. The size and origin of Syria’s mine stockpile is not known, but it is believed to be large and consist mainly of Soviet/Russian-manufactured mines. In 2011 and 2012, government forces used PMN-2 antipersonnel mines and TMN-46 antivehicle mines, indicating that these mines are stockpiled.

Use

After the Syrian Army was deployed to quell anti-government demonstrations in April 2011, the protests evolved into a conflict across the country that was continuing unabated as of October 2013. From late 2011 through 2012 and during 2013, Syrian government forces have used antipersonnel landmines including Soviet-manufactured PMN-2 mines, while non-state armed groups (NSAGs) have used IEDs that are victim-activated.

On 1 November 2011, a Syrian official told media, “Syria has undertaken many measures to control the borders, including planting mines.”[3] The ICBL expressed concern at Syria’s “disregard” for the safety of civilians seeking to cross the border to flee the violence in Syria, calling on Syria to immediately stop using antipersonnel mines and to clear those already emplaced.[4]

In March 2012, Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented new mine use on the Turkish border near Hasanieih (PMN-2 mines), Derwand, Jiftlek, Kherbet al-Joz—toward Alzouf and al-Sofan, Armana, Bkafla, Hatya, Darkosh, Salqin, and Azmeirin.[5] New mine use on the Lebanese border was reported in al-Buni,[6] Tel Kalakh,[7] Kneissi,[8] Heet (PMN-2 and TMN-46 mines),[9] and Masharih al-Qaa.[10]

HRW recorded injuries to three civilians in October 2012 from mine use by the government forces in the village Kharbit al-Jouz, near the Turkish border. Before they abandoned a position, the Syrian military emplaced up to 200 antipersonnel mines.[11]

An April 2013 video posted by rebel forces showing antivehicle mines laid on a road in al-Raqqa governorate asserts that government forces were responsible for the mine use.[12]

It has been alleged that government forces used antipersonnel mines during the May/June 2013 battle for Qusair, a town on the border with Lebanon. On 4 June, a witness who was helping to evacuate civilians from Qusair informed HRW that civilians were warned against attempting to enter Lebanon without using government checkpoints because routes across the border were affected by government-planted landmines.[13]

Several states have condemned Syria’s use of antipersonnel mines since early 2012, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Turkey, and the United States, as well as the European Union.

Prior to the current conflict, Syria was last believed to have used mines in the 1982 conflict with Israel in Lebanon.

Use by rebel forces

During 2012 and 2013, there were reports of Syrian rebels manufacturing and using IEDs, primarily remotely-detonated roadside bombs.[14] More information has emerged about rebel manufacture and use of victim-activated IEDs, which are prohibited by the Mine Ban Treaty’s definition of an antipersonnel mine. In July 2013, Wired published a profile on rebel arms manufacturers in Aleppo, including one manufacturer who showed a reporter victim-activated IEDs (using a pressure plate) that he was working on. The metallic devices looked like “old-fashioned fire-alarm bells.”[15]

In August 2012, a Syrian rebel told the media that they intended to re-use government antipersonnel mines that have been removed from the ground.[16] The ICBL called on the Free Syrian Army and all forces involved in the conflict in Syria to forbid their combatants from using landmines.[17]

It has been alleged that rebel forces used antipersonnel landmines at Qusair, which fell to government forces in early June 2013.[18] According to the Associated Press, in the year prior to the defeat at Qusair “rebels holding the town had heavily fortified it with tunnels, mine fields, and booby traps.”[19] According to one witness from the town, the Syrian military removed mines from around Qusair and cleared roads after the town fell.[20]

There has been some rebel use of antivehicle mines, although the extent is not known. A video uploaded to YouTube in March 2013 shows an Islamic rebel group planting antivehicle mines on a bridge.[21] A video uploaded from Daraa in May 2013 shows IEDs being made from antivehicle mines and detonation cord.[22] A video uploaded on 3 October 2013 shows rebels planting antivehicle mines on a road near Tartus.[23]