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Syria

IMPACT

UNMAS Syria Response Programme’s (SRP) aim is to ensure that “the Syrian population benefits from safe access to basic services and livelihood opportunities;” by enabling the “humanitarian and early recovery partners to deliver free from the risk of explosive ordnance contamination.” Under this vision, UNMAS SRP operates as an enabler of the humanitarian and early recovery response in the country.

Since launching this approach in Aug 2023, UNMAS was able to make these achievements:

December 2024 - June 2025

Since December 2024, 369 people have been killed-and 543 have been injured in 457 explosive ordnance (EO)-related accidents, underscoring the urgent need for clearance and risk education efforts

Northwest Syria

Cross-border mine action partners—including HI, HALO, and WH—have conducted 1,500 clearance operations, disposing of over 2,000 unexploded ordnance items to support safer movement for civilians and aid workers. They also identified 141 minefields and 450 confirmed hazardous areas across Idleb, Aleppo, Hama, Deir-ez-Zor, and Lattakia. Risk education efforts were expanded, with 930 sessions delivered, reaching 17,000 people, including 1,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). Humanitarian workers also received safety briefings.

Central & South Syria

UNMAS and NPA continue clearance operations in Nashabiyeh, Rural Damascus, and the Yarmouk Camp, where 190 EO items were removed from residential buildings. In Babella, Rural Damascus, non-technical surveys and clearance activities are ongoing following multiple EO casualties. Meanwhile, EORE training sessions have been conducted for 14 INGO focal points in Damascus, along with 20 community risk education sessions in Al-Zerbe, Rural Aleppo with a total number of 3,712 beneficiaries. In addition to two EORE Focal Point Trainings in Damascus and two others in Aleppo.

Northeast Syria

Mine action partners—including HI, MAG, DCA, and ITF—have been actively mitigating explosive hazards. In Raqqa, clearance operations and rubble removal have enhanced safe access for civilians and humanitarian actors. In Hassakeh, partners have prioritized EO risk education sessions and capacity-building for humanitarian staff, including those working in health, food security and livelihoods (FSL), and WASH sectors.

Since January 2025, more than 100 spot clearance tasks have been completed. However, the situation in Deir ez-Zor remains highly volatile, with extreme contamination limiting humanitarian response. The city's sole remaining hospital struggles to provide adequate medical care due to shortages of staff, equipment, and supplies, making EO-related casualties even more difficult to address.

 

ABOUT

Fourteen years of conflict in Syria have left a lasting and widespread risk of explosive ordnance (EO) contamination, threatening generations to come by hindering economic development, reconstruction, and agricultural recovery. A country-wide survey has yet to determine the full scale of contamination, but estimates indicate that over 65% of Syrians—15.4 million people—are at risk, with extensive impact on communities, farmland, and infrastructure. Syria has consistently ranked in the top 3 countries with the highest number of annual EO-related casualties globally from 2020 to 2023. Recent events have exacerbated the contamination, with abandoned ammunition from retreating regime forces and Israeli airstrikes on military targets leading to further hazardous areas. Reports also indicate significant anti-personnel minefields along former front lines and military positions, posing acute risks to children, internally displaced people (IDPs), returnees, and workers involved in reconstruction and agriculture.

EO contamination endangers civilians, obstructs humanitarian aid, and stalls reconstruction. Identified as a high strategic risk by the UN, it severely limits access to those in need across more than half of Syria’s sub-districts. Addressing this threat is crucial for recovery and stability.

 

ACTIVITIES

1. Coordination, Information and Quality Management

UNMAS, as the lead agency for the HMA AoR, integrates mine action within humanitarian coordination and ensures the EO threat is considered in UN strategic planning. It manages Syria’s Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA), providing data-driven analysis for prioritization and decision-making. As the de facto Mine Action Center (MAC), UNMAS oversees accreditation and quality assurance for HMA actors. To strengthen coordination, technical Working Groups have been expanded, including those for Victim Assistance, Risk Education, Survey and Clearance, and Information Management.

2. Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) 

Risk education is a vital part of humanitarian and reconstruction efforts, helping communities and responders reduce EO-related risks. The HMA Sector delivers life-saving information through direct sessions, while UNMAS SRP trains facilitators and develops tailored risk education materials to address age, gender, profession, social responsibility, and localized threats.

3. Survey, Marking and Clearance 

Thanks to UNMAS advocacy efforts, survey, marking and clearance of EO are identified as priorities in the Syria Humanitarian Response Plan. Survey and clearance are the only way to define the extent of contamination, identify, mark and fully remove the EO threat. Non-technical survey (NTS) includes desk assessments, analysis of historical records, and community liaison to collect and verify information about contamination, as a precursor to technical survey and clearance. Through technical surveys (TS), the HMA actors physically confirm the absence/presence of EO, mark and record the areas where contamination is found. Clearance is the only way to fully remove the EO threat, as it ensures its removal and/or destruction in a specified area, and releases the land safely back to the community.

4. Victim Assistance (VA)

To ensure sustainability of VA interventions and that no one is left behind, UNMAS connects between the relevant national institutions and humanitarian actors to map VA services for persons with disabilities, establish specialised referral pathways, and promote VA and disability concepts and standards.

In 2020, UNMAS developed a VA framework as a foundation to initiate VA in Syria; including:

  1. collection and analysis of data on EO incidents and victims,
  2. analysis and release of reports and factsheets,
  3. establishment of a referral system in coordination with the health, protection and other sectors, and
  4. establishment of the Victim Assistance Working Group.

FUNDING

The Mine Action Sector in Syria is critically underfunded, receiving only 13% of the USD 51M required in 2024. Urgent funding is needed to scale up response efforts and support the four pillars of mine action.

  • Coordination, Information and Quality Management – key for consolidating a standardised and efficient HMA  response to EO contamination – is currently underfunded, weighing heavily on partners’ abilities to effectively address affected areas and measure impact.
  • Victim Assistance – chronic shortage of physical rehabilitation, psychosocial services, and livelihood opportunities leaves EO survivors and persons with disabilities marginalised, inhibits their possibilities to care for themselves and their families, and prevents them from meaningfully participating in and contributing to the society.
  • Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) – remains the first lifesaving and preventive tool that is key to minimising the risk from death and injury, yet it is often undervalued by donors, forcing partners to reduce or even exclude EORE sessions from their funding proposals.
  • Survey and Clearance – the only way to remove the EO threat remains severely underfunded and geographically limited. There is an urgent need to conduct a baseline survey to determine the level and scope of contamination in the country and prioritise planning for clearance efforts. 

 

Data as of June 2025