Landmine explosion in Syria kills, injures 8 civilians
Shafaq News/ A landmine from the former Syrian al-Assad regime exploded in Tel Salma, eastern Hama, killing and injuring several civilians, according to Syrian media.
The explosion reportedly killed four civilians and injured four others, including two children and a young woman. A civil defense team transferred the injured from the National Hospital Of Salamiyah to another one in Hama for treatment.
"The dangers of war remnants and landmines planted by the fallen Al-Assad regime are a delayed death sentence for Syrians. They claim the lives of civilians, cause severe injuries, deepen their suffering, restrict their movements, and hinder their return to their homes,” the Syrian Civil Defense explained.
Between November 26, 2024, and January 18, 2025, the Civil Defense announced that its demining teams had removed over 1,060 unexploded ordnance (UXO) and identified 134 minefields across Syrian provinces. These efforts allegedly aim to protect civilians and facilitate their safe return to their homes.
War Remnants in Syria: Background
Over the past 14 years, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) has documented the widespread use of anti-personnel landmines (APLs), including remnants of cluster munitions, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries.
The Network revealed that from late 2011 onwards, the Al-Assad regime began planting landmines along the borders with Lebanon and Tukriye without issuing sufficient warnings. “Monitoring indicates that other parties to the conflict and controlling forces have also commonly used landmines, although all documented use of cluster munitions in Syria has been exclusively by the Al-Assad regime and Russian forces.”
The regime fell on December 8, 2024, at the hands of opposition factions during the Deterrence of Aggression battle, which began on November 27, 2024. Following the withdrawal of Al-Assad's forces from previously controlled areas, remnants of war—landmines, unexploded ordnance, and hazardous munitions—were left behind, posing a constant threat to displaced persons and refugees who have regained hope of returning to their homes.
Landmine Casualties in Syria
Syria recorded the highest global number of landmine casualties for three consecutive years—2020, 2021, and 2022. In 2023, the country ranked second, with 933 deaths caused by landmines, trailing Myanmar, which recorded 1,003 casualties, according to the Landmine Monitor.
SNHR documented 3,521 civilian deaths caused by landmine explosions between March 2011 and the end of 2024. These included 931 children, 362 women, seven Civil Defense personnel, 8 medical staff, and nine media workers. Among the victims, 45 civilians—six children and four women—were killed between November 27 and December 31, 2024.
The network further estimated that over 10,400 individuals sustained injuries of varying severity.
The War Remnants and Ammunition Clearance Program revealed that, from the fall of the regime until December 31, 2024, incidents involving war remnants claimed the lives of 55 people, a third of whom were women and children. All of them were reportedly killed due to landmines and unexploded ordnance in Homs, Hama, Idlib, Deir ez-Zor, and Aleppo.
