At least 496 cluster munition attacks were carried out by the Basar Assad regime and its backers between 2012 and 2023 in Syria, a human rights group warned Monday.

It said that cluster ammunitions continue to pose a serious threat to the lives of civilians in the war-torn country.

In a statement, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said cluster ammunition was used in at least 496 attacks between July 2012 and January 2023.

According to the nongovernmental organization (NGO), at least 1,053 civilians were killed in these attacks, including 394 children and 219 women.

The SNHR said that a total of 382 civilians, including 124 children and 31 women, also lost their lives as a result of submunition explosions, taking the overall toll to 1,435 civilians, including 518 children and 250 women.

Dropped from aircraft or fired from the ground or sea, cluster ammunitions open up mid-air and release dozens or hundreds of submunitions or bomblets, which can saturate an area up to the size of several football fields. Many fail to explode on initial impact, leaving dangerous duds that can kill and maim like land mines.

For years, the Assad regime has ignored the needs and safety of the Syrian people, only eyeing further territorial gains and crushing the opposition. With this aim, the regime has for years bombed vital facilities like schools, hospitals and residential areas, causing the displacement of almost half of the country’s population while adopting policies to make their lives more difficult.