The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented the death of one man and the serious injury of his son as a result of landmines leftover in a rural area from the Syrian civil war. This brings the number of civilians killed and injured by three landmines leftover from the war to twenty as of 28 February, 2021.

The most recent incident took place in the Sadd Al-Saib area in the eastern side of Hama, while other incidents have taken place at another landmine near the Rasm Al-Ahmar village in eastern Hama. These casualties were all searching for truffles, a valuable mushroom which is native to the region, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented 449 fatalities since 2019, 72 of which were women and 144 of which were children. Of this total number, 99 were reportedly deaths, 45 of which were women and six of which were children. All of these late civilians were searching for “Syrian wild truffles,” according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

An increasing number of civilians have been killed since 2019 as a result of forgotten landmines from the war, unexploded bombs, and collapse of war-damaged residential buildings, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. All of the killed or injured civilians were reportedly searching for truffles in mountain villages on the eastern side of Syria.

To know more, please read:

https://www.syriahr.com/en/206971/

https://www.syriahr.com/en/206973/

 Author: Gabriella Pavlakis; Editor: Sitara Sandhu