A boy, identified as 16-year-old Ahmad Mohammad al-Salim al-Abd al-Safira from Ma’dan town in the suburbs of Raqqa governorate, was killed on July 16, 2023, by the explosion of a landmine whose source we have not yet been able to identify that exploded under the car he was in along with his father, while they were on their way to their work as shepherds in al-Qasabi ‘badiya’ (desert) in the western suburbs of Deir Ez-Zour governorate. The explosion also wounded the boy’s father.
The area is under the control of Syrian regime forces. The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) is 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.
