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

At the end of March 2026, Syria’s Ministry of Local Administration and Environment in cooperation with the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), published an assessment of damage in Aleppo governorate from the previous years of conflict. According to the publication, within the health sector, three of the governorate’s hospitals had been completely destroyed or severely damaged. Among clinics, 31 had been completely destroyed or severely damaged and a further 39 moderately damaged. In the education sector, more than 440 schools had been either completely destroyed or severely damaged, while more than 1 000 had sustained moderate or light damage. The publication further indicated that nearly 50 000 residential units had been either completely destroyed or severely damaged, and almost 150 000 had been moderately or lightly damaged.498

UNOCHA reported that the January 2026 fighting between the Syrian army and the SDF in the neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh rendered four hospitals inoperative.499 A number of primary health centres and a minimum of three schools were damaged. Destruction to infrastructure networks and residential buildings, 21 % of which had already been damaged prior to the escalation, increased further. Sewage and water networks were also reported to have sustained severe damaged.500 In mid-January, UNICEF similarly confirmed damage to water infrastructure in the two neighbourhoods and assessed that at least 21 schools required rehabilitation.501

At the end of January, war-related damage to the Tishreen Dam continued to cause power cuts in the city of Ain al-Arab,502 while at the beginning of February, the dam had been reconnected to the Syrian electricity grid for the first time after a year-long shutdown.503 In March, it was reported that factions affiliated with the transitional government had destroyed civilian property in villages in the Ain al-Arab countryside, including houses, and had damaged local infrastructure.504

According to several international organisations and NGOs, Aleppo remained among the Syrian governorates most affected by contamination from explosive remnants of war (ERW) and by related incidents.505 The risk was reported to be particularly acute in rural parts of the governorate.506 In November 2025, an estimated one third of farmland in the rural areas of Aleppo and Idlib was contaminated to varying degrees, making these areas among the most dangerous in Syria because of the risk of accidental explosions.507 During the reporting period, SOHR reported several incidents in Aleppo governorate in which civilians were killed or injured by explosions caused by war remnants.508 According to the National Mine Action Centre, between the fall of Bashar al-Assad on 8 December 2024 and mid-January 2026, 151 such incidents were recorded in Aleppo, resulting in 104 deaths and 175 injuries. This represented the third highest number of recorded incidents in Syria after Deir Ez-Zor and Idlib governorates.509 SNHR reported that Aleppo recorded the second highest number of landmine victims between 8 December 2024 and April 2026, with 60 victims, accounting for 18.93 % of the total.510 At the end of January 2026, the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management warned residents, inter alia, not to enter or return to the areas surrounding the Tishreen Dam in the Aleppo countryside until these areas had been fully secured by the ministry’s specialised teams.511