A man and a teenage girl, identified as 29-year-old Shaman al-Mohammad and 17-year-old Mariam al-Balas, were killed on March 22, 2023, by the explosion of a landmine whose source we have not yet been able to identify, while they were riding a motorbike through the village of al-Mestareha in the eastern suburbs of al-Salamiya in eastern Hama governorate. The area is under the control of Syrian regime forces. The Syrian Network for Human Rights is still trying to locate eyewitnesses to obtain more information about the incident.
We call on the controlling forces to uphold their responsibilities to protect 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.
