2.10.6. Conflict-related infrastructure damage and explosive remnants of war

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Yarmouk,1048 and, as reported in April 2026, Jowbar, Qaboun and Tishreen in eastern Damascus were heavily destroyed in the war under Assad.1049 As of January 2026, according to The New York Times, clearing and rebuilding had barely begun since the transitional government took power.1050

Military infrastructure in Damascus suffered from Israeli attacks. After most strategic military assets in Damascus and western Syria were destroyed in December 2024,1051 the ministry of Defence was heavily damaged in a series of Israeli airstrikes in July 2025.1052

As of January 2026, 89 % of key informants in an IOM assessment monitoring return movements and conditions for reintegration1053 reported that no demining activities were ongoing in locations where mines were present.1054 In January 2026, NMAC launched large-scale operations to clear Jowbar from ERW such as landmines and UXO.1055 By March 2026, the HALO Trust reported clearing operations of landmines in rural and surveying of explosive hazards in urban areas of Damascus and six other governorates.1056 ‘Large quantities of unexploded ordnance’ had been left behind in Qaboun. In March 2026, following clearance operations that had been ongoing for a year, the neighbourhood was declared ‘safe’.1057 As of April 2026, no civilian deaths caused by landmines in Damascus had been documented since December 2024.1058

  • 1048

    Qantara, "Debris isn't waste", 29 October 2025, url

  • 1049

    Syria Direct, Reconstruction plan for eastern Damascus neighborhoods alarms residents, 20 April 2026, url

  • 1050

    New York Times (The), Syria, in Ruins, 19 January 2026, url

  • 1051

    BBC, Israel seizing on Syria chaos to strike military assets, 11 December 2024, url

  • 1052

    Al Jazeera, Aftermath of deadly Israeli air attacks in Damascus, 17 July 2025, url

  • 1053

    Data was collected between 1 January and 4 February 2026, including through a network 11 343 key informants in all 14 governorates. IOM, Syrian Arab Republic, Communities of Return Index, January 2026 – Round 4, 2 April 2026, url, p. 20

  • 1054

    IOM, Syrian Arab Republic, Communities of Return Index, January 2026 – Round 4, 2 April 2026, url, p. 7

  • 1055

    Levant24, Major Mine Clearance Launched in Damascus Neighborhood, 27 January 2026, url

  • 1056

    HALO Trust (The), HALO weapons specialist advises UN Security Council on safe access for chemical weapons inspectors, 10 March 2026, url

  • 1057

    Zaman Alwsl, Army engineering units declare Damascus’ Qaboun safe after clearing war remnants, 26 March 2026, url

  • 1058

    SNHR, On the International Day for Mine Awareness: Documenting the deaths of at least 3,799 civilians from landmines and cluster munitions in Syria, March 2011 – April 2026, 4 April 2026, url, pp. 7-8