Attachments
REPORT WRITTEN BY ARIANE ELMAS
Introduction
Following more than a decade of fighting, the humanitarian situation in northwest Syria is not showing signs of improvement. This is the result of continued hostilities, a growing economic crisis, extreme weather, and the fallout from massive earthquakes that struck the region in February 2023. The Syrian conflict is still the main cause of internal displacement. There are about 5 million people residing in northwest Syria, of whom 3.6 million are internally displaced and 1.9 million are housed in camps and self-established areas.(1) At least 4.1 million people in northwest Syria have relied on humanitarian aid since the beginning of 2023 to meet their basic necessities. Women and children make up around 80% of the population, and they are especially susceptible to a variety of hazards, including the risk of explosive ordnance.
The use of explosive ordnance, airstrikes, heavy weapon fire, and IEDs has been a common feature of the combat in NWS and have regularly been used indiscriminately and disproportionately. For the second year in a row, Syria was designated as the country with the highest number of mine casualties in 2023.(2) Based on the heat maps, northwest Syria has the highest concentration. In fact, the extent of explosive hazard contamination is increasing due to ongoing active warfare, which negatively affects citizens and their communities, 42 of which have reported cases of contamination(3). These communities are home to 730,000 individuals, all of whom are vulnerable to explosive ordnance incidents.
Even though an impact survey to determine the amount of contamination of more than a thousand villages was executed in 2020, thorough land release operations are still limited and are only being carried out on a small scale due to ongoing conflict and financial limitations. The negative effects go beyond issues of personal safety and the right to life. Due to the dangers posed by explosive ordnance, 45% of households in NWS report having movement restrictions in or near their current places, which affects their freedom of movement. Moreover, people no longer have access to essential services due to the damage or contamination of vital infrastructure, such as hospitals.
Contamination also makes it more difficult to distribute humanitarian aid and services in a safe manner. As such, explosive hazard contamination has impacted people's ability to engage in livelihood activities and decreased their potential for economic recovery, with the majority of cases being documented on agricultural land.
The northwest Syria region does not have a mine action center. However, so far, the existent authority has somewhat facilitated operations and there are no major restrictions on the activities.
The Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) sector was an area of responsibility under the Protection Cluster. However, due to several factors, a decision was taken in 2024 to create a new HMA working group co-chaired by the White Helmets and Humanity and Inclusion (HI). Currently the White Helmets and Halo Trust provide land release and spot task operations in the Idlib areas. HI and many other local NGOs engage in victim assistance and Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE).
(1) UNHCR Strategy 2024 https://shorturl.at/ZY5Jl
(2) Mine Action Review 2023 https://shorturl.at/TlSSX
(3) North West Syria Protection Analysis Update Critical Protection Risks In the Aftermath of the Earthquake and the ongoing war