April 17, 2023 at 11:27 am CET
Updated 29 minutes ago
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A kilogram of the underground fungus can fetch more than Syria’s average monthly wage
At least 26 people searching for valuable truffles in the Syrian desert have been killed by the Islamic State group, state media and activists say.
Civilians and pro-government fighters were among the casualties of Sunday’s attack in Hama province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
IS fighters have repeatedly hunted down those searching for the mushroom, killing more than 150 people this year.
A kilogram can fetch more than the country’s average monthly wage.
Syria’s state-run news agency Sana quoted a police source as saying that ISIS fighters attacked a group of civilians in the village of Duwaizin in eastern Hama province, killing 26 of them.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group drawing on a wide network of sources on the ground in Syria, put the death toll at 36 and said the casualties included at least 17 pro-government militants belonged to National Defense Forces.
The search for the truffles is extremely dangerous as hunters fight with land mines and IS fighters maintain hideouts in the desert where they grow.
But many, faced with poverty and unemployment exacerbated by the war in Syria, risk the dangers, as the mushroom can be sold for as much as $25 (20 pounds) per kg, depending on size and class, in a country where the average monthly wage is around US$18 (£14). .
The window of opportunity to make money is small as the truffle season only lasts from February to April.
There have been several attacks on collectors, including women and children, in recent months.
Last month, 15 truffle hunters were killed in central Syria, according to SOHR. Dozens more are said to be missing as well.
Days earlier, 16 people, mostly civilians, had been killed in a similar attack on collectors in the same area.
In 2014, IS fighters seized large swathes of Syria and Iraq, imposing their brutal rule over nearly eight million people.
The group was pushed from its last piece of territory in 2019, but it is estimated it still has 5,000 to 7,000 members and supporters spread across the two countries, about half of whom are combatants.
Syria has been devastated by a 12-year civil war that erupted after President Bashar al-Assad’s government used deadly force in response to peaceful pro-democracy protests.
The fighting has claimed half a million lives and forced half the population to flee, including nearly six million refugees abroad.
More than 15 million people in Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance, including nearly 9 million affected by the powerful earthquake that struck neighboring Turkey in February.