Old ordnance | Over 850 civilians killed and wounded by explosions of war remnants since early 2023 across Syria
In the past 15 months, the Syrian Observatory documented the death and injury of 862 civilians by the explosions of war remnants in all zones of influence throughout Syria.
War ordnance, such as old landmines and unexploded IEDs, bombs, shells, projectiles, grenades, etc. which had been planted by military formations across the entire Syrian geography for over 13 years, continues to pose a threat to the safety and lives of innocent Syrians. Meanwhile, relevant authorities and local organisations continue their inaction and have exerted no efforts to remove them.
On the other hand, searching for truffle, which secures high income for truffle pickers during its season that started a few weeks ago, in the dessert has contributed to increasing the number of victims, where hundreds of civilians and combatants have been killed in attacks carried out by ISIS and explosions of old ordnance. Truffle is sold at high prices on markets in regime-controlled areas; this has encouraged people to head to the Syrian desert to search for truffle, disregarding the considerable threats they face there, so that they can cope with the dire living conditions and skyrocketing prices. It is worth noting that Syria is a top exporter of truffle around the world.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has monitored and tracked the issue of explosive remnants of war and documented all the casualties in explosions of old landmines and unexploded ordnance across Syria since early 2023; they are as follows:
- Deaths: 340 civilians, including 108 children and 43 women.
- Wounded people: 522 civilians, including 184 children and 25 women.
The fatalities can be distributed, according to the zones of influence, as follows:
- Regime-controlled areas: 275 fatalities, including 36 women and 64 children, and 380 injured civilians, including 11 women and 93 children.
- SDF-controlled areas: 53 fatalities, including 37 children and seven women, and 58 injured civilians, including five women and 52 children.
- “Euphrates Shield” area: Six fatalities, a man and five children, and 13 injured civilians: a woman and 12 children.
- “Peace Spring” area: A man and a child were killed and five others, including two children, were injured.
- “Olive Branch” area: Four civilians, including two women, were injured.
- Areas controlled by Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham and opposition factions: Four fatalities, including a child, and 34 injured civilians, including 25 children and three women.
Among the total casualty toll, 135 civilians, including three children and 14 women, were killed and 132 others were injured by explosions of old ordnance, while collecting truffle in regime-controlled areas. In addition, the total casualty toll includes three truffle pickers, two fatalities and an injured child, in SDF-controlled areas.
SOHR renews its call on all international organisations to work on removing unexploded war ordnance across Syrian immediately and to address the problem appropriately, especially since all warring parties throughout Syria continue to plant IEDs and landmines. SOHR also calls upon international organisations to adopt a strategy to raise the residents’ awareness about the threats of old ordnance which may have been planted in abandoned buildings as well.