Four people were killed in the city of Raqqa, northeastern Syria, after two separate landmine explosions caused by war remnants south and north of the city.
Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Raqqa said two explosions took place in the city. The first occurred on the morning of Wednesday, April 8, in the al-Akirshi desert south of Raqqa, about 30 kilometers from the city, when a mine exploded in a vehicle, killing a father and his son.
Residents of the area told Enab Baladi that the place where the explosion occurred had not previously contained mines.
The second explosion, according to Enab Baladi’s correspondent, took place north of Raqqa in the village of Umm al-Baramil in the northern countryside. It killed two brothers from the village of al-Haratiya, south of the international M4 highway, Saddam and Faisal Taha al-Akeel, on the evening of Tuesday, April 7.
A third child was also seriously injured and remains in critical condition in the hospital, according to the correspondent.
In recent weeks, mine explosions have become more frequent in Raqqa in general, especially in villages near the international M4 highway, because of the large number of mines left in what had previously been a front line between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian National Army.
Similar Incident in Deir Ezzor
A child was killed, and four others were injured by a landmine left over from the war in the town of Abu al-Hasan, east of Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria, on April 5.
Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Deir Ezzor said at the time that the child, Abdul Rahman Zamel al-Manaa, was killed when a mine left from the war exploded, while children were playing with it.
The injured children were also identified as Qasim Mohammad Ahmad Battal al-Judou, Badr Ratib Ahmad Battal al-Judou, Adel Ratib Ahmad al-Battal al-Judou, and Zamel Sharar Manaa al-Judou.
The injuries were severe, with some of them resulting in the amputation of limbs.
Deir Ezzor province continues to suffer heavily from the presence of war remnants, which repeatedly cause explosions that leave victims behind.
Mines, the War’s Continuing Legacy
In Syria, some areas remain unsafe because of the spread of mines and cluster munitions, effects of war that persist years after the fighting has ended.
This military contamination imposes severe restrictions on civilians’ daily lives. Children are denied the freedom to play, farmers hesitate to return to their land, and villages that could otherwise come back to life remain exposed to danger with every step.
These risks turn even the simplest activity on the ground into a careful calculation, and transform places that should be familiar and safe into spaces ruled by caution and suspicion, leaving the war silently present in the details of Syrians’ daily lives.
On the International Day for Mine Awareness, on April 4, reports revealed the “terrifying” scale of the losses and the long-term threat to future generations, amid enormous field challenges imposed by a heavy legacy of explosives lying in wait for returnees.
1,000 Children Among the Dead
The Syrian Network for Human Rights documented in a report the toll of victims of mines and cluster munitions in Syria since March 2011, confirming that at least 3,799 civilians have been killed, including 1,000 children and 377 women.
The report said the danger did not disappear with the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. Instead, the period after its fall saw the deaths of 329 civilians, including 65 children, as displaced people returned in large numbers to homes and farms contaminated with explosive remnants, especially in Aleppo, Raqqa, Deir Ezzor, and Hama provinces, which topped the list of the areas most affected by this hidden killer.
29,000 Munitions Removed
On the ground, unexploded ordnance removal teams from the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management, the Syrian Civil Defense, continue their strenuous efforts to clear Syrian land.
In a statement, the Civil Defense revealed the results of its operations, confirming that its teams have removed more than 29,000 unexploded munitions since beginning their work, including more than 24,000 cluster bombs.
The statement said every munition destroyed is “equivalent to a life saved,” stressing that these remnants pose a direct obstacle to stability and education, and warning of their deep psychological and physical impact on children, who are the group most exposed to these dangers while playing or moving around.
Truffle Season in al-Hasakah, A Bountiful Harvest Threatened by Landmines
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