A boy, identified as 13-year-old Hamza Mahmoud al-Ahmad, was killed on February 2, 2024, by the explosion of a landmine whose source we have not yet been able to identify, while he was herding sheep near his home village of Jub Abyad to the east of Manbij city in northeastern rural Aleppo governorate. Hamza had found the landmine and begun playing with it, apparently not knowing what it was, which triggered its explosion. The area is under the control of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
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 areas under their control, and to locate and remove landmines planted in these areas. We have documented hundreds of deaths and injuries resulting from landmine explosions, which pose a serious, long-term threat, especially to children, that will last for years to come.
