Four killed, eight injured in landmine blast in Syria
At least four civilians, including two children, were killed when a landmine left over from the war exploded in eastern Syria on Tuesday 10 February. Eight others were injured.
According to Syria's Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management, the landmine struck a vehicle in the al-Kharata area of the southern Deir ez-Zor desert. The condition of those injured ranged from moderate to critical, and included five children and two women, according to the Syrian civil defence. The wounded were evacuated to nearby medical facilities.
Tuesday's explosion followed several other recent incidents that have cast a spotlight on the legacy of landmines and explosive remnants of the almost 14-year-long Syrian civil war.
On Monday 9 February, one person was killed when a landmine detonated under a tractor in the village of Tanab near Aleppo, and two children were killed only three days before that by a similar explosion in the village of Maardebseh in southern Idlib. Both incidents have renewed warnings about the dangers posed by mines in agricultural and residential areas.
Two other recent incidents included a landmine explosion near Deir ez-Zor that instantly killed a motorcyclist, as well as four children being injured while playing near an unexploded device.
Over a year since the fall of the Assad regime, large areas of Syria's rural and desert regions remain contaminated with landmines and explosive remnants of war. Authorities say limited clearance capabilities, vast contaminated areas and the lack of adequate public awareness campaigns continue to leave civilians, particularly children and farmers, at constant risk of death or injury.
