On Saturday, June 7, 2025, five civilians, including three children, their mother, and her sister, were killed when a landmine exploded as the car they were traveling in passed on the M4 highway in the Al-Batih area, east of the town of Sakiro in the northern Raqqa countryside.
According to what the Syrian Network for Human Rights documented through reliable local sources, the family was traveling from areas controlled by the National Army north of Raqqa province toward the city of Raqqa, which is under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces, when a roadside mine exploded, killing five family members and wounding three other children with varying degrees of injury. They were taken to Tal Abyad Hospital.
It’s worth noting that the area where the incident occurred is a dividing line between areas controlled by Syrian National Army factions and those controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces north of Raqqa. Civilians in these areas are forced to take irregular routes due to the lack of official crossings linking the areas controlled by both sides.
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.
Legal Conclusions:
The mine explosion that killed five civilians and injured three others while they were engaged in a peaceful civilian activity (traveling in a car) is an example of how the effects of conflict continue to threaten civilian lives.
The continued presence of landmines in populated areas or close to civilian activity, without their removal or warning to the population, 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 duty to warn and inform stipulated in international humanitarian law.
The inability to identify the party that 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 poses a threat to the right to life and physical integrity.
Recommendations by SNHR:
- An urgent investigation should be launched into the incident to determine which parties to the conflict planted mines in the area, and the responsible party should be held legally liable for negligence or deliberate action.
- Accelerate land mine clearance operations, particularly in agricultural and pastoral areas close to population centers, in cooperation with international organizations such as the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, and the Syrian Civil Defense.
- Prepare comprehensive and updated maps of mines and explosive remnants of war and disseminate them at the local level, 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.
- Providing direct support to victims’ families through urgent financial compensation, providing psychological and social support, and including them in assistance programs for victims of war remnants.
