On Sunday, October 19, 2025, nine civilians, including six children, were injured with varying degrees of severity. The civilians, all residents of the villages of al-Rahiya and Sarha, located in the eastern Hama countryside, were injured when a landmine left behind by the conflict exploded in the car they were traveling in on the outskirts of al-Jubain village in the northern Hama countryside. It should be noted that the area is under Syrian government control.
According to information obtained by the Syrian Network for Human Rights from reliable local sources, the civilians were injured by the explosion of a landmine left behind by the conflict while returning from harvesting pistachio crops on agricultural land in the village of al-Jubain.
This area is among the sites that have witnessed changes in control between the parties to the conflict, making determining who planted the mine extremely complex.
We are continuing our investigations, including reviewing and gathering more evidence and information. Therefore, we hope that anyone with information or details related to this incident will share them with us via our official email address: [email protected]
Legal Conclusions:
- The mine explosion that injured nine civilians, including six children, while they were engaged in a peaceful civilian activity (picking pistachio nuts) is an example of the continuing threat posed by the effects of conflict to civilians.
- The continued presence of landmines in populated areas or close to civilian activity, without removing them or warning the population of their presence, constitutes a violation of positive protection obligations under international humanitarian law, particularly Article 10 of the Amended Protocol to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) on Mines, Booby-Traps, and Improvised Explosive Devices.
- The failure of the controlling parties to provide mine maps or place clear warning signs exposes civilians to death or injury and constitutes a violation of the principle of the duty to warn and inform enshrined in international humanitarian law.
- The inability to identify who laid the mine raises the issue of impunity, which requires an independent investigation and underscores the need for comprehensive documentation of remnants of war and contamination sites to avoid recurring incidents.
- The continued presence of mines in civilian areas constitutes a threat to the right to life and physical integrity.
SNHR’s recommendations:
- Open an urgent investigation into the incident to determine which parties to the conflict planted mines in the area and hold the responsible party legally responsible for negligence or deliberate action.
- Accelerate landmine clearance operations, particularly in agricultural and pastoral areas close to population centers, in cooperation with international organizations such as UNMAS, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, and the Syrian Civil Defense.
- Prepare comprehensive and updated maps of mines and remnants of war and disseminate them locally, with clear warning signs in all suspected areas, particularly those under the effective control of forces on the ground.
- Implement comprehensive local awareness campaigns targeting residents of rural areas and camps on the dangers of mines and how to identify and avoid them, in cooperation with civil society organizations.
- Provide direct support to the families of victims through urgent financial compensation, psychosocial support, and inclusion in programs to assist victims of remnants of war.
