Landmine blast kills child, young man in Deir ez-Zor
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – A child was killed on Sunday by a landmine explosion in Syria’s eastern Governorate of Deir ez-Zor, marking the second such fatal incident in just two days. A young man was killed the day before in a similar explosion.
According to a local source who spoke to North Press, 11-year-old Younes al-Zaeem was killed while herding sheep near the town of al-Jalaa in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, when a landmine left behind from previous conflicts detonated.
Just a day earlier, 28-year-old Majed al-Ateesh was killed when a landmine exploded beneath a tractor he was driving near the outskirts of the Maadan desert, also in the Deir ez-Zor countryside.
Al-Ateesh had been on his way to his farmland in the area.
These incidents follow a similar tragedy late in May, when three children were injured by the explosion of an unexploded ordnance in the town of al-Asharah, also in Deir ez-Zor.
Human rights and humanitarian organizations report that remnants of war—particularly landmines and unexploded munitions—have killed and injured thousands of civilians across Syria since the start of the conflict. Many of the victims are women and children.
Advocacy groups continue to call for intensified efforts to clear landmines and raise awareness of their dangers among local communities.