In the last 20 months, 18 children have lost their lives and 33 more have been wounded in explosions of landmines or foreign objects found mostly in debris piles following the curfews declared in Şırnak, Mardin, Diyarbakır and Hakkari and their districts.

In Şırnak’s center, Cizre, Idil and Silopi districts, Amed’s Sur, Lice and Silvan districts, Mardin’s Nusaybin and Dargeçit districts and Hakkari’s Yüksekova and Şemdinli districts, the ammunition left out in the open in the streets poses great danger. Children mistake the ammunition for toys and play with them, and when they explode they get seriously wounded or lose their lives. The explosions usually occur in debris-filled areas where children can enter easily because there are no precautions, and are caused by grenade launchers used during the operations.

Explosions from landmines laid in the ‘90s also cause deaths and injuries for many children.

At least 18 children have lost their lives and 33 others have been wounded since March last year in explosions caused by objects mistaken for toys.

Some incidents of explosions are as follows:

- On March 31, 2016, in the Cudi neighborhood of Şırnak’s Cizre district, 4 year old Harun Çağlı and 6 year old Ayşenur Geçit lost their lives in an explosion while they were playing with an object they found.

- On April 14, 2016, in the Idil district of Şırnak, 4 year old Hidayet Tek lost his life in an explosion while he was playing with an object he found in front of his home.

- On May 7, 2016, in the Idil district of Şırnak, 8 year old Müslüm Ilhan lost his life when an object he found exploded after he threw it to the ground.

- On May 12, 2016, in the Cizre district of Şırnak, a child named A. A. and his father Tahir A. were seriously wounded when an object they found in the cemetery exploded.

- On May 15, 2016, in the Celali Deresi area of Şırnak’s Silopi district, 10 year old Enes Erdem lost his life when an object exploded.

- On May 19, 2016, in the Şehitlik neighborhood of Diyarbakır’s Yenişehir district, a 10 year old boy named R. D. was seriously wounded when an object he found under the stairs exploded.

- On July 6, 2016, in the Dibek (Derxus) neighborhood in the rural areas of Diyarbakır’s Lice district, 4, 9 and 13 year old children R. Ö., A. Ö. and Y. Ö. were wounded when an object caught fire after a military operation in the area.

- On July 9, 2016, in the Kanispi plains in the Taşkesen village of Ağrı’s Diyadin district, 15 year old Fettah Erdem lost his life while he was herding sheep when a landmine exploded.

- On August 23, 2016, in Mardin’s Nusaybin district, 12 year old Fehime Korkmaz lost her life when an unknown object exploded. D.K. (13) and E.K. were wounded in the explosion in the Zeynel Abidin neighborhood.

- On October 11, 2016, in the Yüksekova district of Hakkari, 10 year old Umut Ayvalık lost his life and 10 year old H.A. and H. A. were wounded when the children playing with an object they found on the ground exploded.

- On October 18, 2016, in the Nusaybin district of Mardin, an explosion that occurred after the curfew killed 14 year old Kadri Barak as he was gathering scraps among the debris.

- On November 5, 2016, in the Gündoğdu neighborhood of Şırnak, 2 children lost their lives and 4 children were wounded in an explosion.

- On December 2016, in the Sur district of Diyarbakır, 13 year old M. İ. and 11 year old Ş. A. were wounded when an object they found on the ground exploded in their hands.

- On December 6, 2016, in the Tekel neighborhood of Diyarbakır’s Silvan district, 8 year old A. Ş. was wounded when an object found on the ground exploded suddenly.

- On December 30, 2016, in the Bahçebaşı neighborhood of Mardin’s Dargeçit district, 12 year old Musa Acar was seriously wounded when an object in a plastic bag exploded as he was playing, and later lost his life in the hospital.

- On January 9, 2017, in the Oslo village of Hakkari’s Şemdinli district, 5 year old Sıdıka Toprak lost her life when an unknown object exploded.

- On January 22, 2017, in Şırnak’s Dicle neighborhood, brothers E. B. and V. B. were wounded when an object exploded.

- On February 25, 2017, in Mardin’s Nusaybin district, 12 year old Y. M. and 6 year old M. M. were wounded when an object they found on the ground exploded.

- On March 30, 2017, in the Abdulkadir Paşa neighborhood of Mardin’s Nusaybin district, 3 year old Havin Güneş and 5 year old Fatih Güneş lost their lives when an object they found in their front yard exploded.

- On April 2017, in the Yarımtepe (Deşta Derî) village in Siirt’s Şirvan district, 12 year old Muhammet  Açıkça and 9 year old Abdulkadir Açıkça lost their lives when landmines left over from the former Hürmüs Outpost in the plains of the village exploded as the children were herding goats.

- On April 20, 2017, in the Kumçatı area in Şırnak, 10 year old E.B., 11 year old M. B., 12 year old H. A. and 11 year old C. K. were wounded when an object they found in the garbage pile in the İkizce Gendarmerie Division exploded.

- On April 25, 2017, in the Sağman village in Dersim’s Pertek district, R.K. and T.K. were wounded when a landmine from the ‘90s exploded.

- On July 1, 2017, in the Güngör neighborhood in Hakkari’s Yüksekova district, 10 year old E. Ç. was wounded when an object he found on the ground exploded.

- On July 19, 2017, in Şırnak’s Cizre district, 9 year old K. A. was wounded when an object he found in the empty lot next to his home exploded.

- On September 30, 2017, in the Eski Kışla neighborhood of Hakkari’s Yüksekova district, Umut Kozay lost his life and his brother E.K. was wounded when an object they found exploded.

- On November 4, 2017, in Yasemin street of the Yenişehir neighborhood in Mardin’s Nusaybin district, N.Y., Y.Y. and Ö.Y., ages between 12 and 13, were wounded when an object they found on the street exploded.