Since the start of 2026, the toll from stray weapons and war remnants in Syria has risen to nearly 200 dead and wounded, including women and children, amid the absence of effective measures to curb their spread.
In the absence of effective measures by the transitional government to control stray weapons and speed up demining operations, these figures point to a dual threat facing civilians every day as residents return to their areas.
Victims of stray weapons
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented the killing of 40 people since the beginning of 2026 in accidental incidents involving weapons and bombs in civilians’ possession, including 26 men, 12 children and two women, in addition to 31 others wounded.
Landmines
The Observatory said the incidents were spread across transitional government-held areas, where 33 people were killed — 22 men, 10 children and one woman — and 27 others were wounded, including two women and six children.
In the Autonomous Administration areas in northeast Syria, seven people were killed — four men, two children and one woman — and four others were wounded.
The Observatory says these figures reflect the continuing danger posed by the spread of weapons to civilians, especially children, and underscore the urgent need for immediate measures to curb this phenomenon.
Landmines and war remnants claim hundreds of lives
The danger is not limited to stray weapons, as landmines and war remnants continue to claim more victims amid the widening spread of contaminated areas and the return of residents to their homes.
Since the fall of the Assad regime, Syria has seen a marked rise in injuries and deaths caused by war remnants, as displaced people return to their homes and farmland.
According to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights statistics for 2026 so far, 128 people have been killed, including 37 children and seven women, while 177 others, including 54 children, have been injured in incidents caused by landmines and war remnants.
These remnants pose an obstacle to all aspects of life and hinder recovery and reconstruction efforts, at a time when vast areas of residential and agricultural land across the country remain contaminated.
As the International Day for Mine Awareness, observed on April 4, passed, the Observatory renewed its warnings that Syria remains one of the world’s most dangerous countries in terms of landmines and unexploded ordnance, with large numbers of people living under constant threat and deaths and injuries being recorded almost daily.
The Observatory says children are the most vulnerable group in these incidents, as they are attracted to cluster bomb remnants and unexploded ordnance, and sometimes take part in farming, herding or searching for food, increasing the risk of injury.
