Ahmad Shlash al-Mahmoud and Khaled Nayef al-Swad, two civilians from al-Alya village in the eastern suburbs of Hama governorate, were killed on April 9, 2023, by the explosion of a landmine whose source we have not been able to identify while collecting desert truffles in the Dwezien area in the Syrian badiya ‘desert’ in the eastern suburbs of Hama.
The area is currently under the control of Syrian regime forces. The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) is still trying to locate eyewitnesses to obtain more information about the incident. We call on the controlling forces to uphold their responsibilities for protecting civilians in their areas, and to locate and remove landmines planted in these areas. We have documented hundreds of deaths and injuries resulting from the explosions of landmines, which pose a long-term, serious threat, especially to children, which will last for years to come.
