The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), a London-based NGO, reported this Sunday (04.16.2023) that at least 43 civilians and soldiers died while collecting truffles in different parts of the country. The main attack occurred in the Duizen area, Hama province, in northwestern Syria, where some cells of the radical Islamic State group are still active.
The OSDH precisely attributes the attack to the jihadists, adding that among the fatalities there are 19 civilians and 17 members of the pro-government National Defense Force militia. During the truffle harvesting season, it is common for this type of incident to occur, since to obtain the precious product many citizens go into desert areas where there are radicals or mines planted on the roads.
Also this Sunday, and in another incident, five shepherds were killed in Buqrus, in the Syrian region of Deir Ezzor, in the east, at the hands of jihadists from the Islamic State mounted on motorcycles, the OSDH added. Two other pastors were kidnapped. Near this town, in addition, the decomposing corpses of two other collectors were found. Since February, more than 200 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in attacks by Islamic State or victims of mines left behind by extremists.
Although the Islamic State lost the last territories it controlled in Syria in March 2019, its cells are still present in desert areas, from where they launch attacks. For example, in mid-March, 15 collectors were stabbed to death, also in Hama, while the deadliest event of the season took place in mid-February in Homs, in central Syria, where 68 people were shot dead while searching for specimens of the fungus.
The desert truffle, which is collected from February to April, is sold in Syria for as much as $25 per kilo, in a country where the average monthly salary is about $18. Syria is plunged into a serious economic crisis and close to 90 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, at a time when the nation is also experiencing its worst humanitarian crisis since the outbreak of the armed conflict almost twelve years ago.
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