LONDON: Recent clashes in Syria’s Aleppo Governorate between interim government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have added to the deadly legacy of unexploded ordnance (UXO) left over by 14 years of civil war.
The fighting erupted on Jan. 6, after months of stalled talks over implementing an agreement to merge the SDF, which controls much of northeastern Syria, into the national army.
As hostilities intensified, about 148,000 people were displaced from the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Achrafieh, Sheikh Maqsoud and Bani Zeid, according to UN figures.
Although a ceasefire was declared on Jan. 11 — a day after the interim government captured the three neighborhoods — the aftermath of the violence continues to hamper returns.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Jan. 12 that about 106,000 people displaced to Afrin from Sheikh Maqsoud were still unable to go home as they awaited the completion of UXO clearance.
