Children Among Casualties in Raids, Landmine Explosions in Northwestern Syria

Smoke rises from the Idlib countryside on Friday, November 12, 2021. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Smoke rises from the Idlib countryside on Friday, November 12, 2021. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Children Among Casualties in Raids, Landmine Explosions in Northwestern Syria

Smoke rises from the Idlib countryside on Friday, November 12, 2021. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Smoke rises from the Idlib countryside on Friday, November 12, 2021. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The death toll from fighting and the explosion of mines and IEDs in northwest Syria’s Idlib governorate increased on Friday to eight civilians, including children.

A child and a man were killed and another two were injured in a landmine explosion while picking olives in the vicinity of San town in east Idlib's countryside, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.

The war monitor has documented the death of 629 people, including 82 women and 226 children, by mines and IED explosions and the collapse of residential buildings in several areas in Homs, Hama, Deir Ezzor, Aleppo and the South since early January 2019.

Four children and a family of four had been killed in the past 24 hours, said Mohsen al-Ali, an activist in Idlib.

Ali said the family was displaced from the southern countryside of Aleppo following airstrikes by Russian warplanes on al-Habit area in the vicinity of Idlib city.

The area has four camps for the displaced from different areas of the southern countryside of Aleppo and Idlib countryside, Ali noted.

The airstrikes caused panic among the refugees, some of whom left their tents, fearing the jets would launch other airstrikes, he stressed.

On September 8, Russian warplanes launched six consecutive air raids on the same area, injuring seven children and burning tents for the displaced, along with artillery shelling by the regime forces stationed in the vicinity of the city of Saraqib, east of Idlib.

An official in Idlib, Ahmad Abdo, said the Russian airstrikes and attacks with artillery and missiles by regime forces and Iranian militias on the de-escalation zone since early July have resulted in the death of more than 213 civilians, including 61 children, 29 women, and five humanitarian workers.

Russian warplanes deliberately target areas hosting refugee camps to spread terror and fear among people, Abdo noted.



Lebanese Man Who’s Lived through Multiple Wars Says This One Has Been the Worst

A man rides his scooter past the debris of a destroyed building, after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah took effect, in Tyre, Lebanon, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
A man rides his scooter past the debris of a destroyed building, after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah took effect, in Tyre, Lebanon, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
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Lebanese Man Who’s Lived through Multiple Wars Says This One Has Been the Worst

A man rides his scooter past the debris of a destroyed building, after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah took effect, in Tyre, Lebanon, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
A man rides his scooter past the debris of a destroyed building, after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah took effect, in Tyre, Lebanon, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)

Mohammed Kaafarani has lived through multiple conflicts with Israel. But he says the past two months were the worst of them all.

“They were a nasty and ugly 60 days,” said Kaafarani, 59, who was displaced from the Lebanese village of Bidias, near the southern port city of Tyre.

Thousands of displaced people poured into the city Wednesday after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect.

Kaafarani said the latest war was the most difficult because the bombardment was so intense. “We reached a point where there was no place to hide. Even buildings were destroyed.”

He said Tyre was left almost empty as most of its residents fled.

Kaafarani said he hopes his children and grandchildren will have a better future without wars because “our generation suffered and is still suffering.”

“The last two months were way too long,” said Kaafarani, whose home was badly damaged in the fighting. He vowed to fix it and continue on with life.