A child was killed and four members of his family were injured in a landmine explosion in the Homs desert.

A child was killed and four members of his family were injured yesterday after a landmine exploded while their vehicle was passing through the Qatqet area in the al-Sukhnah desert, east of Homs province. The mine reportedly detonated suddenly as the family was traveling, resulting in the child’s death at the scene, while the others sustained varying injuries and were transferred to a nearby medical point for treatment.

This incident comes amid the ongoing danger posed by landmines and remnants of war in the Syrian desert, where such explosions recur on an almost regular basis, claiming civilian victims, including children, amid the weakness of efforts to remove these remnants.