Mines and munitions in Syria caused 628 casualties, including 188 children

The British charity Save the Children says landmines and munitions left behind in Syria have killed or injured at least 188 children since the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad.

According to new figures released by Save the Children on Thursday (March 6), landmines and explosive remnants have killed or injured at least 628 people since Assad was toppled on December 8, accounting for more than two-thirds of all casualties in 2023.

Bujar Hoxha, the organization's Syria director, said that in just three months, at least 188 children have been killed or injured, including more than 60 children, an average of two children a day.

"After 13 years of conflict, large parts of Syria are still littered with landmines and explosive remnants of civil war," he said.

Save the Children warned that the number of casualties could rise further as more families return to Syria.

The group called on Syria's transitional government and international aid agencies to speed up the clearance of landmines and unexploded ordnance.

The United Nations said last week that some 1.2 million people have returned to Syria in the past three months, including 885,000 internally displaced people.

A report released in February by the NGO Humanity and Inclusion warned that unexploded ordnance left over from the Syrian civil war still posed a serious threat.

Experts estimate that of the approximately 1 million munitions dropped during the civil war, between 100,000 and 300,000 never detonated.