A young man identified as Mohammad Suleiman al-Faraj, from Mazra’at al-Jalaa in the suburbs of Raqqa, was killed on April 26, 2023, by the explosion of a landmine whose source we have not been able to identify while he was looking for desert truffles in the badiya ‘desert’ of al-Shmitiya town in Deir Ez-Zour governorate.
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.
