SOHR: 11 including five children killed in landmine blast in Syria

Eleven people have been killed and dozens injured after a landmine hit near Syria’s southern city of Daraa, a war watchdog said on Saturday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said: “11 people, including five children and three women under the age of 16, were killed and about 34 were injured in the explosion.” He said that the condition of some is serious.

Syria’s official Sanaa news agency said most of the victims were wheat harvesters.

The latest toll since the start of 2022 puts the total number of people killed by the explosive remains at 124, according to the UK-based observatory, which relies on an extensive network of sources in Syria.

Explosives left on farms, by roadsides or in buildings by all sides in Syria’s decades-long conflict have injured thousands of civilians and killed hundreds.

According to the United Nations, nationwide, nearly half the population is estimated to live in areas contaminated with unexploded ordnance.

In 2020, Syria overtook Afghanistan as the country with the most casualties from landmines and explosive remnants of war, according to the Landmine Monitor, killing or injuring 2,729 people.

The observatory said that in 2021, 241 civilians were killed and 128 were injured from explosive residues across Syria.

Syria’s war has killed nearly half a million people and displaced millions since the brutal crackdown on anti-government protests began in 2011.