Syria records highest casualties from cluster munitions in 2025
The 2026 report of the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor showed that Syria recorded the highest number of casualties in a single country due to cluster munition remnants in 2025, with 68 cases out of 117 globally recorded. This underscores the ongoing threat posed by these remnants to civilians, despite no new use of cluster munitions being recorded in Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in late 2024.
The Syrian Network has documented the use of cluster munitions in Syria since 2012, including fatalities, injuries, incident locations, and, where possible, the responsible parties. The Network attributed documented use cases to the former Syrian regime forces and Russian forces, and also documented the use by the “Daesh” (ISIS) group of at least one type of cluster munition. The Syrian Human Rights Network has issued numerous reports and statistics in this field.
The Monitor’s report recorded no known use of cluster munitions in Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in late 2024, and does not list Syria among countries believed or suspected to have experienced new contamination from cluster munition use in 2025 and 2026.
During the monitoring period, the report documented the use of cluster munitions by Iran, Myanmar, Russia, Thailand, and Ukraine, and recorded their use in Mali in May 2026, without being able to identify the responsible party.
For its part, the Network warned in a report issued alongside the Monitor’s annual report that persistent gaps in services leave survivors struggling to access basic care due to resource shortages, particularly outside major cities. It also highlighted shortages in emergency care, rehabilitation, prosthetics and orthotics, psychosocial support, and economic integration services.
The report noted that survivors face additional burdens due to long distances and high costs of accessing services. It pointed out that underinvestment in victim assistance, along with administrative restrictions and obstacles hindering the import of specialized equipment, have limited rehabilitation options and weakened the broader effectiveness of mine action responses.
