An unidentified boy was killed on February 23, 2024, by the explosion of a landmine of as yet unidentified source while harvesting desert truffles in Tal’da village in a rural area to the north of al-Salamiya city in eastern Hama governorate. The area is 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.
It should be noted that civilians travel to the badiya ‘desert’ areas in eastern rural Homs and Hama during the desert truffles season to harvest the truffles, with the money earned from selling them providing an essential source of income for many families. However, deaths like this, caused by the explosion of landmines left by the war, have become an inevitable annual tragedy this time of the year, with the lethal live landmines still widespread across these areas despite the areas having been under regime control for years now.
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.
