A 19-year-old displaced man from Afrin has died in a mine explosion in Tal Rifat. Explosions are frequent in the area, as the region has been heavily laden with mines and booby traps by jihadists.
A mine explosion in Tal Rifat in northern Syria has killed a 19-year-old young man. The victim is Cuma Fayade. The young man was from the village of Der Gare in Shera, a district in Afrin. He had been staying in a camp for displaced persons in Tal Rifat since Turkey invaded the formerly self-governing canton.
According to available information, the detonation of the explosive device, presumably left behind by the terrorist militia ISIS, was apparently triggered by a kick. Tal Rifat, like many other regions in Shehba Canton, is effectively contaminated. A large part of the region, located east of Afrin, was under ISIS occupation between 2013 and 2015 and was heavily laden with mines and booby traps by jihadists. Explosions occur there time and again, with a high mortality rate. The situation became particularly dramatic in 2018, when hundreds of thousands of people fled from Afrin to Shehba to escape the Turkish occupation forces.
The agricultural committee has cleared well over forty hectares of land of ISIS remnants and opened it for use since the liberation of Shehba by the YPG/YPJ. However, further clearance work is hampered by continued attacks of Turkish occupation forces. Artillery strikes target the region almost daily. In addition, Shehba is cut off from the outside world, as the surrounding area is controlled by Syria, Turkey and Turkish-backed militias.
