LONDON: Four children have been killed by landmines and unexploded ordnance in Syria in less than a week, Save the Children said on Tuesday, warning that explosive remnants of war are endangering families returning home after years of displacement.
Three children aged 8 to 12 were killed on Monday when unexploded ordnance detonated as they herded sheep near Palmyra, according to local news reports.
Their deaths followed a landmine explosion at a school in Hasakah last week that killed a child and injured 14 people, including children and teachers.
Save the Children said in a statement received by Arab News that four deaths were double the weekly average of children killed by landmines from July through September.
Jeremy Stoner, the organization’s acting country director in Syria, said children face danger whether they are attending school, working to support their families or playing.
“Children in Syria are playing a deadly game of stepping stones where one misstep will end their life,” Stoner said. “In Syria, when a child leaves their home, their parents often fear for their life.”
“Schools, which are protected under international law, are no longer safe, as we saw in Hasakah last week,” he added.
“Meanwhile children who have been forced out of school and into work just to support their families do so at their own peril.…
