Syrian family sifts through old ammunition for a living

Family business: Unexploded ordnance shells and spent ammunition casings have become a source of income for some displaced Syrians. — AFP

IN a scrapyard in northwest Syria, nine-year-old Malik lifts and drops neutralised mortar shells into a neat pile to help his family eke out a living after fleeing war.

Metres away, a younger child walks unsteadily, an empty missile in his arms, on his way to throw it on a heap of scrap metal.