Trapped inside their town, surrounded by the Syrian regime and Lebanon's Hizbullah, residents of the town of Madaya near Damascus tell Diyaruna they face death by landmine if they try to escape.

During the siege that has lasted more than a year , Hizbullah has manned mobile and fixed checkpoints and has planted thousands of landmines in the fields and farmland surrounding the mountainous town, they said.

So far this year, 50 people from the town have fallen victim to landmine explosions, 10 of whom were killed instantly, while 14 lost their legs, activists in the area told Diyaruna.

Surrounded by Hizbullah

On October 3rd, a landmine explosion injured three young men, one of whom faces the prospect of having his foot amputated.

Using a pseudonym out of concern for his safety, 19-year-old Rida Nasser told Diyaruna how he and a group of young men from Madaya recently found themselves caught in a minefield.

The people of Madaya await UN aid to receive basic food items , he said, "but there is an acute shortage of salt, which did not come in as part of the aid".

"A group of youth and I decided to breach the siege and attempt to bring in an amount of salt, after the price of one kilogramme rose to more than $100," Nasser said.

"As soon as we reached an area known as al-Wazeer, a number of anti-personnel landmines detonated, wounding two in the group, while the rest of us escaped unscathed," he said.

"After the explosions, we turned on our phone flashlights to check on the injured and discovered that we were surrounded by landmines," he added.

One of the injured sustained a direct injury to his left leg and is at risk of having his leg amputated if he is not taken to a hospital for surgery outside the town, Nasser said.

"He is currently experiencing severe pain, but is not the only victim of a landmine, as many have been injured while trying to reach their agricultural lands on the outskirts of Madaya," he said.

"We live and death walks alongside us," he said. "We are deprived of everything, and [Hizbullah] surrounds us with its weapons, roadblocks and landmines."

Forced amputations

Muhammad Tariq, also using a pseudonym, told Diyaruna he is suffering complications following the amputation of his leg.

The young man was injured in a landmine blast earlier this year, and was later able to leave town to continue treatment.

"We did not know that the Hizbullah militia is besieging us and has littered the town and our agricultural lands with landmines," he said.

In mid-January, he recalled, he and a group of youth "went to land owned by my family to assess the feasibility of cultivating it".

"As soon as I stepped on that land I felt a blast rip my entire body, only to realise moments later that I had sustained a serious injury," he said.

"I tried to stand on my feet, but could not, and my companions could not take a single step," he said. "I dragged myself towards them, with blood covering my lower half."

Tariq was eventually transported to a field hospital, where he was told his condition was critical and he would require urgent surgery.

"But the siege imposed on the town forced the decision to have my leg amputated," he said.

For the last 10 months, he said, he has been suffering complications from the amputation, which was performed haphazardly due to the lack of specialised surgeons.

"I somehow managed to leave Madaya for treatment, but to this day I am unable to reach a hospital to follow up on my situation," he said. "I live with a prosthetic leg that I have yet to adjust to, and all this because of Hizbullah, which sowed its hatred against us."

Children dying

A number of children have been killed or injured by mines while playing on the outskirts of the town, Amrha organisation director and medical activist Abu Ali Hamadeh told Diyaruna.

Hizbullah planted the town with concealed landmines, he said, estimating that the party planted "6,000 landmines in our agricultural lands to instill fear in us".

The mines have caused 50 injuries since the beginning of the siege, he said, seven of whom were children -- three died and four had their legs amputated.

The mines also have caused livestock deaths, he said, adding that anyone who steps beyond the town limits risks triggering an explosion.

"We tried to dig them out of the ground and formed a team of youth activists with some experience [in mine clearing], but after removing 15 landmines on the first day of the process a youth was [hit] by a mine," he said.

Doctors at the field hospital were forced to amputate his leg, he said, adding that after this, the de-mining initiative concluded.

To add to the danger, "Hizbullah discovered what we were doing and began to monitor us intensely", he said, even installing infrared cameras.

The siege imposed by Hizbullah has led to the depletion of all supplies, particularly medical supplies, Hamadeh noted.

"So if someone is injured in a landmine explosion, we are forced to amputate his leg and replace it with a prosthetic one, because we lack specialised doctors and medical equipment and materials," he said.

"No one can imagine the carnage of a person injured in a landmine and the sight of his bleeding, blown off leg, after which he undergoes amputation with local anesthesia while his screams of pain echo throughout Madaya," he said.

"We are trapped until death by Hizbullah," he said.