War ordnance, such as old landmines and unexploded IEDs, bombs, shells, projectiles, grenades, etc. which are everywhere in Syria, continues to pose a threat to the safety and lives of innocent Syrians. These explosive remnants of war (ERW), which had been planted by military formations across the entire Syrian geography for over 13 years, have tragically killed and injured a large number of Syrian people. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has monitored and tracked the issue of explosive remnants of war and documented all the casualties in explosions of old landmines and unexploded ordnance across Syria in November 2024; they are as follows:
Deaths: Nine civilians, including two women and four children.
Wounded people: 23 civilians, including two women and 15 children.
The casualties are distributed regionally as follows:
Regime-controlled areas: Seven fatalities, including two children and two women, and four injured civilians, including three children.
SDF-controlled areas: Three children were injured.
HTS-held areas: Two children were killed and five other children were injured.
Areas where Kurdish and regime forces are deployed: 11 civilians, including four children and two women, were injured.
SOHR renews its call on all international organisations to work on removing unexploded war ordnance across Syrian immediately and to address the problem appropriately, especially since all warring parties throughout Syria continue to plant IEDs and landmines. SOHR also calls upon international organisations to adopt a strategy to raise the residents’ awareness about the threats of old ordnance which may have been planted in abandoned buildings as well.
