Suleiman Khalil was harvesting olives in a Syrian orchard with two friends four months ago, unaware the soil beneath them still hid deadly remnants of war.

The trio suddenly noticed a mine lying on the ground. Panicked, Khalil and his friends tried to leave, but he stepped on a hidden mine that exploded. Terrified, his friends ran to find an ambulance, but Khalil, 21, thought they had abandoned him.

Khalil’s left leg was badly wounded in the initial explosion. His right leg was blown off from above the knee in a second blast. He used his shirt as a tourniquet on the stump and screamed for help until a nearby soldier heard him and rushed to his aid.

While the nearly 14-year Syrian war came to an end with the fall of Bashar al-Assad on December 8, war remnants continue to kill and maim.

Mines and explosive remnants – widely used since 2011 by Syrian government forces, its allies and armed opposition groups – have contaminated vast areas, many of which became accessible only after al-Assad’s government collapsed, leading to a surge in the number of landmine casualties, according to a recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report.

Experts estimated that tens of thousands of landmines remain buried across Syria, particularly in former front-line regions like rural areas of Idlib governorate.

At least 249 people, including 60 children, have been killed and 379 injured by these munitions since December 8, according to INSO, an international organisation that coordinates safety for aid workers.

Landmines not only kill and maim but also cause long-term psychological trauma and broader harm, such as displacement, loss of property and reduced access to essential services, HRW says.

The rights group has urged the transitional government to establish a civilian-led mine action authority in coordination with the United Nations Mine Action Service to streamline and expand demining efforts.

Reports come after defence chief attracted scrutiny last month over discussions of military plans in another group chat.

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared details about planned bombing raids on Yemen in a second Signal group chat that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, US media has reported.

The reports come after Hegseth attracted scrutiny last month when the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine revealed that the defence chief had shared details about upcoming air strikes on Houthi rebels in a Signal group chat that the journalist had been accidentally included in.

Hegseth’s discussions in the second group chat similarly involved planned strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, The New York Times and CNN reported on Sunday, citing multiple unnamed sources.

The information shared by Hegseth in the second chat included “flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets targeting the Houthis in Yemen,” The Times reported, citing “people with knowledge of the chat”.

Hegseth set up the second group chat before his confirmation as defence secretary to coordinate with members of his personal and professional inner circle, the outlets said.

Hegseth’s brother, Phil, and his personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore, are both employed at the Defense Department, but his wife, Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, is not.

In response to an inquiry from Al Jazeera, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell called the reports an “old story – back from the dead.”

“The Trump-hating media continues to be obsessed with destroying anyone committed to President Trump’s agenda. This time, the New York Times – and all other Fake News that repeat their garbage – are enthusiastically taking the grievances of disgruntled former employees as the sole sources for their article.  They relied only on the words of people who were fired this week and appear to have a motive to sabotage the Secretary and the President’s agenda,” Parnell said in a statement.

Parnell said no classified information had been shared in any Signal chat.

“What is true is that the Office of the Secretary of Defense is continuing to become stronger and more efficient in executing President Trump’s agenda. We’ve already achieved so much for the American warfighter, and will never back down,” he said.

The disclosure of military information in the first Signal group chat, which included top officials in President Donald Trump’s administration including Vice President JD Vance and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, is currently being investigated by the Pentagon’s acting inspector general.

The latest controversy involving Hegseth’s leadership follows a week of personnel upheaval at the Pentagon.

Four members of Hegseth’s inner circle, including his former press secretary John Ullyot, have been removed over the last week amid a widening probe into leaks of information.

On Sunday, Ullyot said that the Pentagon was in “disarray” and “total chaos” under the defence chief’s leadership.

“The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership,” Ullyot wrote in an opinion piece published by Politico Magazine.

Ullyot announced his resignation on Wednesday, following the departures of Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg; Darin Selnick, Hegseth’s deputy chief of staff; and Dan Caldwell, one of Hegseth’s aides.

In a statement on Sunday, Carroll, Selnick and Caldwell said they had been slandered and subjected to “baseless attacks” ahead of their dismissal.

“All three of us served our country honorably in uniform – for two of us, this included deployments to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, based on our collective service, we understand the importance of information security and worked every day to protect it,” the three men said in the statement.

“At this time, we still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of ‘leaks’ to begin with.”

These are the key events on day 1,150 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Saturday, April 19:

Fighting

Russia launched eight missiles and 87 drones in an overnight attack on Ukraine on Saturday, causing damage in five regions across the country, the Ukrainian air force said. Air defence units shot down 33 Russian drones while another 36 were redirected by electronic warfare. Damage was recorded in five regions in the south, northeast and east.
A Russian missile attack killed one person in Kharkiv, while a drone attack killed another in Sumy, with at least five children among dozens injured. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said 15 residential buildings, a business and an educational facility were damaged in the attack.
The city of Zaporizhzhia was hit by a Russian drone during the night. Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov reported the attack on Telegram, saying a fire had broken out and emergency services were responding.
Russia claimed it targeted Ukrainian drone production sites and warned of escalation if Germany sends Taurus long-range missiles, calling it a step towards direct involvement in the war.

Politics and diplomacy

The US has put forward a proposal to end the war in Ukraine that includes lifting sanctions on Russia, Bloomberg reported, quoting unnamed European officials. The US plan “would effectively freeze” the conflict, with invaded Ukrainian territory remaining under Russian control, according to the report.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed NATO chief Mark Rutte on the plan, but warned Washington will “move on” if a ceasefire deal doesn’t appear viable within days.
President Donald Trump later warned that the US would “take a pass” on mediating peace if Moscow or Kyiv continue to hinder progress towards ending the war.
Russia and Ukraine will exchange 246 prisoners each on Saturday in a deal brokered by the UAE. The swap, the 13th mediated by Abu Dhabi, will add to a growing list of exchanges since 2022 and brings the total number of captives swapped to 3,233.
A Russian court has sentenced 19-year-old activist Daria Kozyreva to two years and eight months in prison for allegedly “discrediting” the army through antiwar graffiti and quoting 19th-century Ukrainian poetry. Amnesty International condemned the verdict as a “chilling” attack on peaceful dissent and called for Kozyreva’s immediate release.