ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria has recorded approximately 3,000 traffic accidents since the beginning of 2026, the country's emergency ministry told Rudaw on Tuesday.
The accidents have "resulted in 2,932 injuries and 196 fatalities," the ministry said in a statement sent to Rudaw's Muhammad Issa.
It noted that "motorcycle accidents accounted for 30 percent of total accidents, resulting in 34 percent of total injuries and 16 percent of total deaths."
The statement comes days after a deadly bus collision in central Syria left 35 people dead and at least 30 injured. The crash drew mourning and sympathy statements from the international community and regional countries, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani.
Road safety on Syria's main highways has deteriorated sharply since the fall of the Assad government, with crumbling infrastructure, aging vehicle fleets, and lax enforcement compounding the risks on long desert corridors.
The Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, recorded more than 600 traffic accidents in the first quarter of 2025 alone, killing 39 people and injuring 567. By mid-April, the toll had climbed to 726 accidents, 46 deaths, and 667 injuries.
