Four minors were injured, some of them seriously, in a mine explosion in the northern Syrian canton Shehba on Friday. The victims were taken to the Avrîn hospital in Fafin, where they are receiving intensive medical treatment. They are displaced persons from Afrin who were housed in a refugee camp in Tel Rifat. Only in early October, a 45-year-old camp resident was injured in a mine explosion.

According to available information, the detonation of the explosive device, presumably left behind by the terrorist militia "Islamic State" (IS), occurred when the minors left the camp to play. In Shehba, explosions often occur with a high mortality rate, as the region has been heavily contaminated with mines and booby traps. In most cases, the victims are children playing outside. A large part of the region east of Afrin was under IS occupation between 2013 and 2015. The situation became particularly dramatic in 2018, when hundreds of thousands of people from Afrin fled from the Turkish occupation forces to Shehba.

Since the liberation of Shehba by the YPG/YPJ, the self-governing agricultural committee has cleared over forty hectares of land of IS legacies and released it for use. However, the reconstruction work is being hampered by the continued attacks of the Turkish occupation forces. Grenades are hitting the region every day. In addition, the self-governing area is cut off from the outside world because the surrounding area is controlled by Syria, Turkey and Turkish-backed militias.