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

According to UNDP, by the end of January 2026 the new north–south division between areas controlled by the transitional government and the SDF had disrupted supply routes, causing severe fuel shortages and electricity outages. The cut-off of the Tishrin power line reportedly halted electricity supplies to Qamishli and Hasaka cities and interrupted water pumping.858 UNDP further noted that earlier damage, including to gas turbines and electricity substations, remained unrepaired. Some health centres in southern areas had been looted and ceased operation, while 61 schools had been destroyed before the recent conflict.859 Following the transitional government’s takeover of southern Hasaka, a wide tunnel network dug by the SDF was discovered. The tunnels reportedly affected soil stability and altered groundwater routes, negatively affecting crops.860 In northern Hasaka countryside, the Al-Darbasiyah power substation, previously damaged by Turkish shelling, continued to have power outages. Repeated Turkish shelling in northern and eastern Syria in the years before have led to infrastructure damage, affecting civilian life.861 In April 2026, committees were formed to assess the level of destruction around Tel Tamer and Zirkan towns,862 an area that served as a frontline between Turkish forces and allied groups and the SDF from 2019 until the end of 2025. Many villages have been depopulated, landmines planted, and homes looted. Residents remained unable to return due to widespread destruction and the presence of unexploded ordnance.863

SNHR reported in April 2026 that Hasaka governorate was among the areas with the lowest number of landmine victims in Syria since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad on 8 December 2024. Three civilian deaths were recorded in the governorate, representing 0.95 % of the national total.864 Mine Action reported three explosive ordnance-related incidents in Hasaka governorate between 15 August and 15 October 2025, resulting in one person killed and two people injured.865 During the same period, clearance teams identified ten new hazardous areas and carried out nine explosive ordnance disposal spot tasks across ten sub-districts in Hasaka and Raqqa governorates, removing and destroying 22 explosive items.866 During the reference period for this report, SOHR reported several incidents in which civilians were killed or injured by war remnants in Hasaka governorate.867 At the end of January 2026, the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management warned residents not to enter or return to areas inter alia in Hasaka countryside until specialised ministry teams had fully secured them from landmines, remnants of war and IEDs.868 The governorate’s desert areas, particularly around Mount Abdelaziz and Markada in the southern Hasaka countryside, were reported to be especially dangerous. Mines were reportedly scattered randomly in these areas, posing particular risks to local residents collecting truffles.869