ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least 242 people have been killed and 370 injured across Syria since the start of 2026 by mines, unexploded ordnance and other remnants of war, a human rights watchdog said Monday, recording around 21 people killed and 20 injured in Rojava.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the 242 people killed since January included 146 men, 87 children and nine women. Another 370 people were injured, including 222 men, 136 children and 12 women.
In areas under the Kurdish administration in northeast Syria (Rojava), 21 people were killed and 20 injured. The deaths included 13 men, seven children and one woman, while the injured included 12 men, seven children and one woman.
The dangers are increasingly significant as efforts are underway to facilitate the return of displaced people to their hometowns in areas affected by war, a feat which hinges on state security coordination in which the clearance of unexploded ordnance is a major prerequisite.
The watchdog highlighted the ongoing risk of explosive remnants of war in turning roads, fields and areas around residential communities into deadly hazards, which “continue to claim civilian lives, indiscriminately affecting children and young adults, as landmines and explosive devices remain scattered across several areas.”
The watchdog reported the injury of a boy on Monday when a landmine exploded in Tel Tamr countryside, in Hasaka province in Rojava, who was taken to a hospital for treatment.
“This latest incident renews fears about the danger posed by war remnants to civilians, particularly children,” said the watchdog.
In a separate incident, a young man suffered a foot injury after a mine exploded near Shweihan village, south of Mansoura in eastern Raqqa countryside, according to the Observatory.
In areas under the control of Syria’s transitional government, 221 people were killed and 350 injured, according to the Observatory. The deaths included 133 men, 80 children and eight women, while those injured included 210 men, 129 children and 11 women.
