Syrian Gov't Forces Continue to Demine SW Suburb of Damascus - Serviceman

DARAYYA (Sputnik) - The Syrian government forces continue mine clearance in the city of Darayya, located just five miles to the southwest of Damascus, and expect to complete the process in one month, a Syrian serviceman said on Tuesday.

"In the nearby building, we found a large amount of ammunition. We inspect house by house, street by street. We bring everything here to the wasteland, where we have deep pits. It is there that we detonate the mines that we find, shells and other explosive objects… We continue the demining. Eight sappers are working in this area. We think that it will take us a month to completely clear the city [of mines]," a serviceman from the Syrian government forces told journalists.

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The government forces regained Darayya back from armed militants in 2016, however, the area has been closed for the residents until now. Civilians have recently started returning to the city after some areas were cleared of mines.

While the civil war in Syria is not completely over yet, Damascus has already regained control over vast territories that had fallen into the hands of militants over the course of the war. The Syrian government can now pay significant attention to the reconstruction of the affected areas and welcome the refugees who were either internally displaced or had to flee from the war to other countries.

According to the latest data provided by the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for the Reception, Allocation and Accommodation of Refugees, over 600 hectares of land, 1,169 buildings and almost 170 kilometers (105 miles) of roads have been cleared of mines in Syria so far. A total of 10,273 explosive objects, including more than 2,770 improvised explosive devices have been destroyed.