SOHR: Five killed and 30 injured in landmine explosion in Deraa

According to local media, five civilians were killed and 30 others were injured on 11 June after a landmine detonated near a car transporting wheat harvesters in the town of Deir al-Adas in the Deraa countryside.

A hospital official, however, told German news outlet Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) that eight people had been killed and 42 were injured, contradicting the reports of Syrian media. According to residents, the majority of the victims were women.

Deraa witnessed intense fighting between the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and extremist rebels throughout the course of the 12-year war, most recently during the offensive which took place last year.

Much of the landscape across this Syrian governorate holds unexploded land mines left behind by militants.

On 22 May, three children were injured in Inkhil in the northern Deraa after the detonation of an unexploded landmine.

Over the past year, Deraa has witnessed a string of targeted killings carried out by unknown assailants. The latest, on 12 April, claimed the life of Farid Al-Amarin, the secretary of the local Syrian Baath Party branch.

These killings have targeted many of those who have been involved in or supported the peace and reconciliation agreement brokered by Russia between the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and armed rebel groups in Deraa, as well as high-ranking security personnel and local council leaders.

The truce agreement successfully brought an end to the fighting in Deraa after a majority of militants laid down their weapons, and allowed Damascus to re-open a crucial border crossing with Jordan.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on 1 April that 41 people were killed in Deraa in the month of March in a continuous string of targeted attacks. A drastic increase in killings has been cited since the implementation of the truce  agreement.

 

 

Source: The Thread Times