War ordnance casualties in November 2022 | 31 civilians, including 20 children, ki*lled and injured across Syria

War ordnance, such as old landmines and unexploded IEDs, bombs, shells, projectiles, grenades, etc. which are everywhere in Syria, continues to pose a threat to the safety and lives of innocent Syrians. These explosive remnants of war (ERW), which had been planted by military formations across the entire Syrian geography for over 11 years, have tragically killed and injured many Syrian people.

 

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 in November 2022; they are as follows:

 

• Deaths: 14 civilians, including five children.

 

• Wounded people: 17 civilians, including one woman and 15 children.

 

The fatalities are distributed regionally as follows:

 

• Regime-held areas: Six people, including three children.

 

• Autonomous Administration-held areas: Four people.

 

• Areas held by Turkish-backed factions: A child

 

• Areas held by HTS and factions: Three people, including a child.

 

Here are further details of the circumstances of these deaths and casualties of the explosion of old ordnance in November 2022:

 

• November 1: A nine-year-old boy was killed, and his mother was seriously injured today, following the explosion of an old landmine near a landfill on the outskirts of Al-Masarab town, west of Deir Ezzor.

 

• November 2: A young man in his 20s was killed due to the explosion of a landmine of war remnants, while his vehicle was passing on Toraby Road eastern of Qinyan Al-Kaal well in Al-Suwaydaa desert. It is worth noting that the young man is from Al-Qasr village north eastern of Al-Suwaydaa, and works as a shepherd.

 

• November 5: A child succumbed to wounds he sustained along with four others when an old projectile exploded in Daraa Al-Balad On November 3.

 

• November 14: Two young men were killed by the explosion of an old landmine in Maqta’a Hajar Kabir village, south of Manbij in eastern Aleppo countryside.

 

• November 15: Two civilians were killed by an old landmine at Al-A’loush village junction in Manbij countryside in areas held by SDF and regime forces in eastern Aleppo countryside.

 

• November 17: A body of an unidentified person was found buried in agricultural land near Al-Rami town in Petrowan Jurat Khreisan. It is worth noting that the people found only bones and clothing.

 

• November 17: Residents in Salmiyah city in Hama countryside found the body of a civilian from Al-Salmiyah city with his face mutilated, due to the explosion of a bomb of war remnants, near Zaghrin Square on the road between Salmiyah city and Zaghrin village in Hama countryside.

 

• November 19: A man was killed by the explosion of an unexploded projectile while collecting olive nearby Kafr Taal town in the western countryside of Aleppo, near frontlines with regime forces.

 

• November 19: A child was killed by the explosion of an unexploded projectile on the road between Suran city and Kawkab town in Hama countryside.

 

• November 20: A child was killed by the explosion of an unexploded cluster bomb in farmland on the outskirts of Jisr Al-Shughour city in western Idlib, while herding sheep.

 

• November 25: A child died of the wounds he had sustained by the explosion of an unexploded projectile near Fallah camp in Al-Ashrafiyah neighbourhood in Afrin city in “Olive Branch” area.

 

• November 29: A civilian was killed by the explosion of an unexploded explosive of remnant of war while harvesting olive fruits in the vicinity of Majdalia village in Idlib countryside.

 

Accordingly, SOHR has documented the death of 203 civilians, including ten women and 101 children, due to explosions of old landmines, unexploded shells and bombs across Syria since early 2022. In addition, 294 civilians, including 17 women and 173 children, sustained various injuries in the same period. Among the total death toll, a man and his son were killed in the collapse of a war-damaged building in Darya city in Rif Dimashq, four civilians were killed in the collapse of another building in Jubar neighbourhood and a child was killed in the collapse of a house in Adawan in Idlib countryside.

 

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.