The day after Bashar Al Assad's regime fell in December, Mohammed Al Sghir went back to check on his family home in the Syrian desert city of Palmyra, alongside his uncle, a family friend and four children.
As the 43-year-old father-of-three entered the building, it exploded. He and the two other men were killed as mines detonated under their feet.
“The house was planted with all kinds of death. It was an enormous explosion, it rang out across Palmyra,” said Mohammed’s brother, Muthanna, 40, who had gone to pray at the time. The children – two of Mohammed’s own and two of his nieces and nephews – had remained in the car outside, so were spared, but were covered in dust from the explosion.
“The children were in the street, and they were the ones who got the news out. I ran to the house, it was absolutely awful,” Muthanna, whose family was displaced to Idlib province from their home city around nine years ago, told The National. “That house was the love of my father’s life, he put everything into it. And in one moment, it was all gone,” Muthanna said, beginning to cry.
Mines are a huge threat to Syrian civilians trying to return to their homes after being displaced by years of conflict. Unexploded remnants of war from conflicts in neighbouring countries such as Lebanon and Iraq have not been fully cleared years after the fighting ended, suggesting Syria faces a long battle against the deadly devices.
According to figures gathered by the Halo Trust, an international de-mining charity currently working in Idlib province in north-western Syria, 267 people have been killed by the devices across the country since the Assad regime fell. Scores more have been killed by improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordnance other than landmines, such as shells or rockets, and over 200 more injured.
The National visited the site of the Al Sghir home in Palmyra city, in Homs province, and Muthanna confirmed the location remotely. All that remains of the former house is a pile of grey rubble, a few teetering columns, and tangles of rebar. The three victims were buried in Palmyra, which resembles a ghost town, with much of its infrastructure and housing having been destroyed in years of conflict.
“We buried my brother the next day because there was nothing left of his body, just shreds,” said Muthanna. “The others remained for two days under the rubble before the specialist engineers could safely dismantle the mines." In the desert around Palmyra, mine clearance teams have raked through tonnes of explosives, stored in homes and other buildings and planted in the vast expanses of surrounding land.
For the Bedouin people, the shepherds, we have put in place [guards] around some zones so people cannot enter until the engineering team comes and dismantles the mines, and then the desert people can enter.
Amer Ahmed Jumaa,
military commander in the Syrian desert
According to two military officials in the city, between the fall of the Assad regime on December 8 and mid-January, the teams cleared at least 17 tonnes of mines from areas under their control, including 700 individual anti-personnel and anti-armour mines laid around the city's majestic Unesco world heritage site. While they believe they have largely cleared Palmyra city and its archaeological area, many more tonnes of mines remain in the desert.
“There are still more, four to five times more than this,” Amer Ahmed Jumaa, a military commander for Syria’s desert, known as the Badiya, told The National from an abandoned tourist resort being used as a base for security forces.
Outside, a team had just returned from a de-mining patrol with a lorry full of anti-personnel and anti-armour mines – hundreds of little green cylinders still covered in sand and mud from the desert. The National sent photographs to an expert formerly of the British military, who identified Iranian YM-1B, Soviet PMN-2 anti-personnel mines, and a Soviet TM-57 anti-tank mine among them.
“After we defuse the mines, we put them in places where we destroy them permanently,” Omar Ismail, head of the local mine disposal team, told The National. Twice in 24 hours in Palmyra, large booms rang out across the desert from what appeared to be ordnance exploding in controlled detonations.
Alongside the mines, Palmyra suffered severe destruction to infrastructure and housing, and the threat of unexploded ordnance is another reason why few of its pre-2011 population of more than 100,000 have returned. The city was occupied by ISIS on and off between 2015 and 2017, when it was retaken by pro-Assad forces, who fled when his regime collapsed in December.
The scale of the mines is huge. Other countries need to provide support – awareness about mines, equipment, specialists, civil defence.
Muthanna Al Sghir,
whose brother was killed by a mine in Palmyra
Mr Ismail learnt de-mining tactics, including how to use mine detectors, from specialists in Idlib, in a pocket of territory that rebels retained control of before the Assad regime fell. “We got good expertise from them and we moved to work so that our role would be to protect civilians first, which means securing residential areas and humanitarian corridors, of course that’s first,” he told The National.
The military officials in Palmyra believe that pro-Assad, Iran-backed militias and regime forces that held the city until December laid mines around sites used as military bases. “They planted mines to protect themselves from any attack they anticipated, and to prevent civilians from approaching them,” Mr Ismail said. “We, as an engineering team, remove the mines properly, according to our experience and specialised work.”
The perimeter of Palmyra’s ancient ruins was mined to prevent vehicles entering the area, he believes. “As vehicles approached the heritage site, the mines would perhaps detonate,” he said. “The anti-personnel mines, meanwhile, were around the heritage site and in places where the regime and the Iranian militias had a presence.”
A significant problem in Syria’s desert is ensuring that livestock rearers are able to safely roam the expanses with their animals – a way of life that necessitates extra precautions. “For the Bedouin people, the shepherd, we have put in place [guards] around some zones so people cannot enter until the engineering team comes and dismantles the mines, and then the desert people can enter,” said Mr Jumaa.
Mr Jumaa said his team, which is part of the new Ministry of Defence, was well-equipped and trained to deal with the colossal scale of de-mining necessary, and was not receiving help from any foreign organisation. “Honestly, we have a team that is carrying out its duty.” he said. He answered with a tut, indicating “no”, when asked if his men needed extra support.
That assessment may have been premature. Two weeks after The National visited Palmyra, another local military official passed on news that Mr Ismail had been badly injured during a de-mining operation in the desert. One of his team members was killed.
For people like Mohammed Al Sghir, Syria needs more help to rid its landscapes of mines. “There are bodies responsible for mines, but the scale of the mines is huge, they are spread across huge expanses in Palmyra and the desert,” said Muthanna. "Other countries need to provide support – awareness about mines, equipment, specialists, civil defence."
Many Syrians want to return to their homes, but the risk of unexploded ordnance is still too high, Muthanna added. “Death is still planted everywhere.”
RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner Thabet Al Reef, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Blue Diamond, Pat Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6.30pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Shoja’A Muscat, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Heros De Lagarde, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner Good Tidings, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Brief scores
Barcelona 2
Pique 36', Alena 87'
Villarreal 0
'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Ireland v Denmark: The last two years
Denmark 1-1 Ireland
7/06/19, Euro 2020 qualifier
Denmark 0-0 Ireland
19/11/2018, Nations League
Ireland 0-0 Denmark
13/10/2018, Nations League
Ireland 1 Denmark 5
14/11/2017, World Cup qualifier
Denmark 0-0 Ireland
11/11/2017, World Cup qualifier
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
Fiorentina v Torino (8pm)
Hellas Verona v Roma (10.45pm)
Sunday
Parma v Napoli (2.30pm)
Genoa v Crotone (5pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (8pm)
Juventus v Sampdoria (10.45pm)
Monday
AC Milan v Bologna (10.45om)
Playing September 30
Benevento v Inter Milan (8pm)
Udinese v Spezia (8pm)
Lazio v Atalanta (10.45pm)
Results
2pm: Handicap Dh 90,000 1,800m; Winner: Majestic Thunder, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
2.30pm: Handicap Dh120,000 1,950m; Winner: Just A Penny, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
3pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m; Winner: Native Appeal, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Classic Conditions Dh300,000 1,400m; Winner: Thegreatcollection, Adrie de Vries, Doug Watson.
4pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m; Winner: Oktalgano, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.30pm: Conditions Dh250,000 1,400m; Winner: Madame Ellingtina, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m; Winner: Mystery Land, Fabrice Veron, Helal Al Alawi.
5.30pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,000m; Winner: Shanaghai City, Jesus Rosales, Rashed Bouresly.
Meg%202%3A%20The%20Trench
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBen%20Wheatley%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJason%20Statham%2C%20Jing%20Wu%2C%20Cliff%20Curtis%2C%20Page%20Kennedy%2C%20Cliff%20Curtis%2C%20Melissanthi%20Mahut%20and%20Shuya%20Sophia%20Cai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Francesco Totti's bio
Born September 27, 1976
Position Attacking midifelder
Clubs played for (1) - Roma
Total seasons 24
First season 1992/93
Last season 2016/17
Appearances 786
Goals 307
Titles (5) - Serie A 1; Italian Cup 2; Italian Supercup 2
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
The specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 849Nm
Range: 456km
Price: from Dh437,900
On sale: now
The Indoor Cricket World Cup
When: September 16-23
Where: Insportz, Dubai
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, Friday, March 29, 5pm at The Sevens, Dubai
SUNDAY'S ABU DHABI T10 MATCHES
Northern Warriors v Team Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangla Tigers v Karnataka Tuskers, 5.45pm
Qalandars v Maratha Arabians, 8pm
MATCH DETAILS
Barcelona 0
Slavia Prague 0
'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
Grand Slam Los Angeles results
Men:
56kg – Jorge Nakamura
62kg – Joao Gabriel de Sousa
69kg – Gianni Grippo
77kg – Caio Soares
85kg – Manuel Ribamar
94kg – Gustavo Batista
110kg – Erberth Santos
Women:
49kg – Mayssa Bastos
55kg – Nathalie Ribeiro
62kg – Gabrielle McComb
70kg – Thamara Silva
90kg – Gabrieli Pessanha
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Teaching in coronavirus times
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.
