ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) have killed or injured more than 620 people in Syria Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime nearly three months ago, including over 180 children, the UK-based Save the Children charity said Thursday.

The organization reported that there have been at least 628 casualties as a result of these explosives since December 8; two-thirds of the total number of casualties for all of 2023, which stood at 933.

Out of at least 188 children casualties, more than 60 have been killed, meaning that “an average of two children a day have been killed or injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war since 8 December.”

The NGO called on the transitional government to “speed up and fully engage” in addressing the existing mines and unexploded ordnance, while calling on international donors to step up in support of “the scale-up and provision of technical equipment necessary” for clearing the mine-ridden fields.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have returned home since the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, but millions others have yet to make the journey back over fears of instability, lack of security, or trust in the new regime.

Many Syrians are expected to flood back home as the country begins to stabilize, rebuild and recover from over a decade of civil war.

Save the Children warns that the number of ERW casualties is expected to increase as more displaced Syrian children return to the war-torn country.

“This number is expected to rise as more children return to their homes, help tend farmland or forage for food, and play outside, especially as weather conditions continue to improve,” the organization said.