Thousands of Syrian refugees stranded in Turkish minefield: HRW

A human rights watchdog urged Turkey on Dec. 3 to remove from its border with Syria landmines which have killed three people and wounded nine among more than 2,000 Syrian refugees camped in a minefield.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the refugees, living in their cars after fleeing the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL) onslaught in Syria, were stuck in the minefield because Turkey had refused entry for vehicles and livestock, and they did not want to abandon their belongings.

Turkey reported that its military laid more than 600,000 mines along the Syrian border between 1957 and 1998 to prevent illegal border crossings, HRW said.

"To fall victim to a landmine after losing your home and fleeing your country is a fate no one should have to endure," HRW arms director Steve Goose said in a statement.

Since fighting between Kurdish forces and Islamic State's Sunni militants began in September around the Syrian border town of Kobani, thousands of Syrians have fled into Turkey through a narrow strip of mined land along the border, known as the Tel Shair corridor, the watchdog said.

There have been at least 70 mine explosions in the area over the last two months, it said, citing aid workers as saying a mine exploded every two to three days, triggered by fleeing civilians or livestock.

One victim, Selma, whose home was destroyed by ISIL, was carrying her one-year-old son across the border, with her seven-year-old daughter clutching her dress, when she stepped on a mine.

Her daughter suffered first degree burns on her face, and aid workers took Selma to a Turkish hospital where doctors amputated her left leg.

Selma, a farmer and mother of six, told HRW she had seen no signs warning that...