Syrian Government Plants Landmines Along Lebanon Border
As refugees flee violence in Syria, the government has placed landmines along the country’s border with Lebanon so as to avert people from escaping the violence-ridden country.
A Syrian official told the Associated Press that placing landmines across the country’s 230-mile border with Lebanon is a strategy aimed to prevent arms smuggling into the country.
The official told the news agency, “Syria has undertaken many measures to control the borders, including planting mines.”
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However, with thousands of Syrians fleeing to neighboring Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon since the Arab Spring protests gained traction in Syria in mid-March, it appears that the landmines are not merely being placed along Lebanon’s border for security purposes.
Furthermore, human-rights groups have been investigating cases of Syrian refugees captured abroad in refuge and forced back into Syrian territory.
Landmines are an extremely controversial weapon because of their indiscriminate targeting of civilians and combatants alike, the longevity their danger poses, and because they make land unusable for decades.
The use of landmines to target individuals fleeing for safety should ignite some reaction on behalf of the international community due to the Ottawa Treaty and the international norm of Responsibility to Protect.
The Ottawa Treaty is a treaty banning the use and production of anti-personal landmines. Although Syria is not a signatory to the treaty, the treaty is significant in the international community and that coupled with the R2P norm that NATO used to justify its mission in Libya may propel action on behalf of world leaders to protect civilians in Syria.
President Assad warned the international community against taking action in his country in a recent interview with The Sunday Telegraph.
Assad told the magazine, “Syria is a hub now in this region. It is a fault line, and if you play with the ground you will cause an earthquake.”
Assad asked if the global community wants another Afghanistan, or even ten, and added, “Any problem in Syria will burn the whole region. If the plan is to divide Syria; that is to divide the whole region.”
The Untied Nations has reported that 3,000 people have died in the government-backed violence since protests against the Assad government began.
