How do you rebuild if you can’t trust in the safety of the ground under your feet?
Since fighting ended in December 2024, 1.5 million Syrian refugees have returned to Syria. But, as they look to rebuild and reclaim the lives that the war took from them, the dangers of the decades-long conflict remain.
Remnants of the war are everywhere—from bullet-pocked walls of homes to bombed-out local markets, to the dangers that remain entirely unseen.
According to the Landmine Monitor 2025 report, Syria saw 1,014 casualties in 2024, giving it the second-highest number of new casualties on earth from unexploded ordnance (UXO). UXOs include buried landmines or bombs, like cluster munitions, that didn’t go off upon impact. As people return home to find their houses or local hospitals destroyed, they face the unknown danger of what lurks beneath the rubble as they begin to rebuild.
Think about your own day-to-day: you might drive to work on local streets, go for a walk, or watch your children play in a nearby park. In Syria, each one of those activities still carries the risk of triggering UXO, leading to severe injury or death.
To tackle this issue, CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) is working with the local government to locate and dispose of UXOs, helping these communities safely rebuild and return to a safer, more normal way of life.
Clearing the Ground in Harasta
In Harasta, less than 15 minutes from the center of Damascus, Syria’s largest city, CORE collaborated with the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Preparedness and the local government to launch a UXO pilot program. CORE targeted this pilot at the site of a former building in the middle of a neighborhood that still bears the heavy scars of war.
Wearing protective equipment and armed with sensitive metal detectors, ministry teams arrived to carefully comb through the site. Walking through the rubble and over large piles of debris, they searched for any remaining UXOs. The teams could carefully remove any UXOs found and transport them to a secure location for safe disposal.
Our local staff kept curious neighbors at a safe distance to protect them in case live explosives were found.
Educating the community is a key part of our team’s work. Locals who fled are returning to a place that looks very different but feels very much like home. Our staff makes them aware of the remaining dangers so they can make informed decisions to keep themselves and their families safe.
It’s so important that this critical information comes from trusted sources like our local staff. And it’s one of the many reason’s we’ve hired local Syrians who know the area and can related with their neighbors. On top of that, hiring locally also provides crucial jobs. This is especially important in Syria, where the overall unemployment rate sits around 13%, and 31% of those aged 15-24 are out of work. This initiative not only keeps people safe but also brings greater financial security to the neighborhood.
Laying the Groundwork for the Future
CORE views this UXO clearance as a vital first step in the rebuilding process. Over the coming months, CORE will launch several different pilots across Syria—including physically rebuilding the medical center—to empower Syrians as they move forward from the war.
Help us rebuild safely. To stay informed and up to date with CORE’s work in Syria and across the globe, please visit our response page or follow along on our social channels.