Mine Action Review: Syria was subjected to 4 cluster bomb attacks by the Syrian regime and Russia in 2020

HOLEB, RAQQA, DAYRO ZCURO, DRUCO, HEMTO, Syria — The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) stated that during 2021, 241 people were killed and 228 others were injured in Syria due to exploding mines from war remnants, especially in agricultural lands.

According to statistics from the Euromed Monitor for Human Rights, “during ten years, about 2637 civilians were killed in Syria due to mines, including children, women, medical staff, civil defense workers and media professionals.”

The issue of mines is that they are removed at the end of the conflict, such as bombing, security chaos, or flying bullets from battles. Instead, some types of mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) remain dangerous even after decades.

The Euromed Monitor said that most of the mine victims are civilians from Holeb (Aleppo), Raqqa, Dayro Zcuro (Deir ez-Zor), Druco (Daraa) and Hemto (Hama).

A United Nations report showed that in Syria, one explosion was recorded every 10 minutes during the past five years.

The dangers to civilians in Syria include conventional military and anti-vehicle mines, IEDs, cluster bombs, and a variety of other projectiles that do not explode after hitting their target.

The Mine Action Review organization, specialized in studying areas where mines are spread, declared that Syria was subjected to 4 cluster bomb attacks by the Syrian regime and Russian forces in 2020. The attacks targeted areas that are not under the control of the regime in Northwestern Syria.