{ "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "scope": "Selected current conflict situations and armed violence; not an exhaustive legal conflict inventory", "records": [ { "id": "ukraine", "name": "Russia–Ukraine war", "region": "Europe", "lon": 31.5, "lat": 49, "kind": "Interstate conflict", "summary": "Russia’s invasion continues to drive fighting and damage to civilian infrastructure.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-ukraine", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": { "label": "Source-linked environmental brief", "title": "Kakhovka: flooding, sediment movement, and ecosystem change", "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "coverage": "Lower Dnipro and former Kakhovka reservoir; dam breach on 6 June 2023, assessed in UNEP’s October 2023 rapid report. This case does not represent all of Ukraine.", "method": "Rapid multidisciplinary assessment separating observed changes from potential impacts; frontline conditions constrained access.", "sources": [ { "label": "UNEP · Rapid Environmental Assessment of Kakhovka Dam Breach", "url": "https://wedocs.unep.org/items/707588f4-2c12-4707-8ba5-e524b555c014", "date": "October 2023", "locator": "Key messages, printed p. ix; §§3.1–3.3 and 3.5" }, { "label": "UNEP · Ukraine environmental impacts overview", "url": "https://wedocs.unep.org/items/c5a97c5f-da8e-4081-a2e9-8da7bd59a64c/full", "date": "6 December 2025", "locator": "Meeting presentation; broader context, not a new field survey" } ], "findings": [ { "topic": "Water & sediment", "text": "Flooding downstream and drying of the former reservoir transformed the river–reservoir system.", "basis": "Observed hydrological and landscape changes.", "limit": "Flood extent and sediment movement do not establish that every affected location was chemically contaminated.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "water", "soil" ], "evidence_type": "observed", "questions": [ "water" ] }, { "topic": "Chemical releases", "text": "The assessment reports releases including machine oil and liquid fertilizer from the flood-affected landscape.", "basis": "Rapid assessment of chemical releases and affected storage sites.", "limit": "Released material is not equivalent to a measured exposure dose; detailed investigation was restricted.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "water", "soil" ], "evidence_type": "assessed", "questions": [ "water" ] }, { "topic": "Habitats", "text": "Floodwater washed away organisms and deposited sediment and debris in downstream habitats. Reservoir drying changed an established aquatic ecosystem.", "basis": "Ecological assessment of flood and desiccation impacts.", "limit": "Long-term recovery and full biodiversity consequences require follow-up; findings date to the 2023 assessment.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "habitats", "water" ], "evidence_type": "assessed", "questions": [ "water" ] } ], "text": "Kakhovka: flooding, sediment movement, and ecosystem change", "url": "https://wedocs.unep.org/items/707588f4-2c12-4707-8ba5-e524b555c014", "source": "UNEP · Rapid Environmental Assessment of Kakhovka Dam Breach", "topics": [ "habitats", "soil", "water" ], "why_it_matters": { "label": "Water & habitats", "text": "The Kakhovka case shows how flooding and reservoir drying can reshape a river system and its habitats. Recovery planning needs to distinguish those physical changes from chemical contamination that still requires investigation.", "sources": [ 0 ] }, "knowledge_gap": { "unknown": "The 2023 Kakhovka brief does not establish long-term ecosystem recovery or chemical conditions at every affected site.", "needed": "Repeat sampling of water and sediment, alongside follow-up habitat surveys, would help distinguish persistent pollution from physical landscape change.", "findings": [ 0, 2 ] }, "dates": { "period": "Dam breach: 6 June 2023; rapid assessment: October 2023", "published": "October 2023", "kind": "Historical case", "source": 0 } }, "reading_count": 5, "weapons": { "reviewed": "2026-10-25", "period": "Mixed periods: September 2026 missile, drone and guided-bomb reporting; August 2025 artillery/remnant evidence; 2024 cluster-munition incidents.", "status": "Reported use and explosive remnants", "items": [ { "type": "Artillery & rockets", "context": "Artillery shelling and multiple-launch rocket systems.", "source": 0, "period": "August 2025 · report published 10 September 2025", "status": "UN monitoring" }, { "type": "Missiles & attack drones", "context": "OHCHR documents civilian harm from long-range missiles and drones and short-range drones in September 2026. This is civilian-protection monitoring, not an environmental sampling result.", "source": 2, "period": "September 2026 · report published 15 October 2026", "status": "UN monitoring" }, { "type": "Aerial bombs", "context": "OHCHR reports Russian attacks involving guided aerial bombs, alongside ballistic and cruise missiles and drones. The statement does not identify every munition model or chemical composition.", "source": 3, "period": "September 2026 · statement published 24 September 2026", "status": "UN monitoring" }, { "type": "Mines & explosive remnants", "context": "Mine and explosive-remnant incidents are recorded separately from strikes.", "source": 0, "period": "August 2025 · report published 10 September 2025", "status": "Explosive-hazard incidents" }, { "type": "Cluster munitions", "context": "The Monitor records use by Russian and Ukrainian forces in Ukraine in 2024. This summary does not attribute every incident.", "period": "2024 incidents · 2025 report", "status": "Reported use", "source": 1 } ], "sources": [ { "label": "OHCHR · Protection of civilians, August 2025", "url": "https://ukraine.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/Ukraine%20-%20protection%20of%20civilians%20in%20armed%20conflict%20(August%202025)_ENG.pdf", "date": "10 September 2025 · summary, pp. 1–2" }, { "label": "Cluster Munition Monitor 2025 · casualties and use", "url": "https://the-monitor.org/online-reader/cluster-munition-monitor-2025", "date": "2025 report · Casualties / New use sections; covers 2024 and reporting in 2025" }, { "label": "OHCHR · Protection of civilians, September 2026", "url": "https://ukraine.ohchr.org/en/Protection-of-Civilians-in-Armed-Conflict-September-2026", "date": "15 October 2026 · September 2026 observations; summary" }, { "label": "OHCHR · Russian attacks and weapon types", "url": "https://ukraine.ohchr.org/en/node/582", "date": "24 September 2026 · opening paragraphs" } ], "categories": [ "drones", "missiles", "artillery", "bombs", "mines", "remnants", "cluster" ] }, "photo": { "width": 3456, "height": 3564, "date": "22 March 2024", "place": "Kyiv, Ukraine", "caption": "Debris inside a church in Kyiv following the 21 March 2024 missile strike, according to the photographer’s description.", "alt": "Debris and fallen metal window frames on the floor inside a church in Kyiv.", "credit": "Rasal Hague", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kyiv_after_Russian_missile_strike,_2024-03-21_(002).jpg", "context": "Regional context: Kyiv is a different location from the Kakhovka case below. This photograph does not establish chemical concentrations or present-day conditions.", "src": "assets/documentary/ukraine-kyiv-church-2024.jpg", "changes": "Web display copy resized and compressed; full frame retained. Original source image also available.", "web_src": "assets/documentary/ukraine-kyiv-church-2024-960.webp", "srcset": "assets/documentary/ukraine-kyiv-church-2024-480.webp 480w, assets/documentary/ukraine-kyiv-church-2024-960.webp 960w" }, "context_update": { "title": "Energy infrastructure damage and winter service risks", "period": "September–14 October 2026; UN release published 16 October 2026", "kind": "UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission reporting", "summary": "HRMMU reported renewed Russian attacks on Ukraine’s electricity and heating infrastructure as winter approached.", "points": [ "A 30 September attack damaged electricity generation, distribution and transmission facilities in three regions and Kyiv, causing emergency outages.", "The release also describes attacks on energy facilities during 13–14 October." ], "connection": "Damage to power and heat systems creates service and recovery concerns. This infrastructure reporting is separate from the Kakhovka environmental assessment in this entry.", "limit": "This release does not measure soil or water contamination. Its observations apply to the stated period, not conditions today.", "url": "https://ukraine.un.org/en/324562-civilian-casualties-remain-record-levels-amid-intensifying-attacks-energy-winter-approaches", "source": "OHCHR / UN in Ukraine · 16 October 2026", "locator": "Paragraphs on attacks on energy infrastructure, 30 September and 13–14 October", "checked": "2026-10-27" }, "weapon_estimates": { "reviewed": "2026-10-27", "scope": "Selected historical benchmarks and dated examples, not a current arsenal total.", "items": [ { "kind": "Historical civilian holdings", "value": "9.9", "unit": "firearms per 100 residents", "scope": "Ukraine · civilian-held firearms", "period": "2017", "basis": "Expert estimate; estimated total 4,396,000 civilian firearms.", "limit": "Not the percentage of people who own guns, not a military inventory, and not a current-conflict count.", "url": "https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe-REV1.pdf", "source": "Small Arms Survey · Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017" }, { "kind": "Announced military assistance", "value": "31", "unit": "M1 Abrams tanks", "scope": "United States commitment to Ukraine", "period": "Announced 25 January 2023", "basis": "U.S. defense announcement of a planned assistance package.", "limit": "An announcement, not a measure of deliveries, surviving tanks or the total inventory of either side.", "url": "https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3277910/biden-announces-abrams-tanks-to-be-delivered-to-ukraine/", "source": "U.S. defense department · 25 January 2023" } ] } }, { "id": "gaza", "name": "Israel–Palestine: Gaza", "region": "Middle East", "lon": 34.45, "lat": 31.42, "kind": "Conflict situation", "summary": "The Gaza conflict and its aftermath remain part of the wider Israeli–Palestinian conflict.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/israeli-palestinian-conflict", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": { "label": "Source-linked environmental brief", "title": "Debris, damaged water systems, and vegetation loss", "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "coverage": "Gaza Strip; UNEP assessment released September 2025. Figures describe that assessment, not present-day measurements.", "method": "UN environmental assessment using remote sensing and other UN agencies’ field observations; UNEP staff could not enter Gaza.", "sources": [ { "label": "UNEP · Environmental damage in Gaza: findings", "url": "https://www.unep.org/en/news-and-stories/press-release/environmental-damage-gaza-strip-harming-human-health-threatening", "date": "23 September 2025", "locator": "Key findings; methods paragraph" }, { "label": "UNEP · Second environmental assessment", "url": "https://wedocs.unep.org/items/7aa1738b-c460-499b-9227-5818dbac66bc", "date": "September 2025", "locator": "Full report and recommendations" } ], "findings": [ { "topic": "Debris & soil", "text": "UNEP estimated 61 million tonnes of debris. About 15% could be at relatively high contamination risk without early waste separation.", "basis": "Damage/debris estimates and risk assessment.", "limit": "A risk estimate does not establish measured metal concentrations or classify all debris as hazardous.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "waste", "soil" ], "evidence_type": "estimated", "questions": [] }, { "topic": "Water & sanitation", "text": "Damaged sewage and water systems were linked to likely additional aquifer pollution; coastal contamination was also considered likely.", "basis": "Infrastructure observations and pathway assessment.", "limit": "UNEP said marine/coastal testing was not possible. These are not measured concentrations at each location.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "water" ], "evidence_type": "assessed", "questions": [ "water" ] }, { "topic": "Habitats & agriculture", "text": "UNEP reported loss of 97% of tree crops, 95% of shrubland, and 82% of annual crops since 2023.", "basis": "Remote-sensing assessment.", "limit": "Vegetation loss is distinct from chemical contamination; percentages refer to different land-cover classes.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "forests", "habitats" ], "evidence_type": "observed", "questions": [ "food" ] } ], "text": "Debris, damaged water systems, and vegetation loss", "url": "https://www.unep.org/en/news-and-stories/press-release/environmental-damage-gaza-strip-harming-human-health-threatening", "source": "UNEP · Environmental damage in Gaza: findings", "topics": [ "forests", "habitats", "soil", "waste", "water" ], "why_it_matters": { "label": "Water, crops & debris", "text": "Damaged water and sewage systems, vegetation loss and vast debris volumes make water services, agriculture and waste management interconnected recovery concerns. UNEP’s risk estimates do not tell us the contaminant concentration at every site.", "sources": [ 0 ] }, "knowledge_gap": { "unknown": "The linked assessment could not test marine and coastal waters. Debris risk estimates also do not establish contamination at individual sites.", "needed": "Site-specific debris characterization and coastal water and sediment sampling would help test the proposed pollution pathways.", "findings": [ 0, 1 ] }, "dates": { "period": "Changes since 2023 described in the September 2025 assessment; a single common observation cutoff is not specified in this brief", "published": "23 September 2025 · findings release", "kind": "Dated assessment", "source": 0 } }, "reading_count": 2, "weapons": { "reviewed": "2026-10-25", "period": "October 2026 update; historical 2023–2024 findings retained below.", "status": "Reported use", "items": [ { "type": "Airstrikes & shelling", "context": "OCHA reports continuing Israeli airstrikes and shelling in Gaza. This update does not identify individual munition models or measure contamination.", "source": 1, "period": "October 2026 · update published 15 October", "status": "UN humanitarian reporting" }, { "type": "Air-delivered bombs", "context": "The Commission reports Israeli airstrikes using explosive weapons.", "source": 0, "period": "2023–2024 incidents described in a 2024 report", "status": "Reported use" }, { "type": "Tank, artillery & naval fire", "context": "Israeli tank fire, artillery fire and naval shelling are described.", "source": 0, "period": "2023–2024 incidents described in a 2024 report", "status": "Reported use" }, { "type": "Rockets & mortars", "context": "The report describes Palestinian armed groups firing rockets and mortars into Israel, including on 7 October 2023.", "source": 0, "period": "2023–2024 incidents described in a 2024 report", "status": "Reported use" } ], "sources": [ { "label": "UN Commission of Inquiry · A/HRC/56/26", "url": "https://www.un.org/unispal/document/coi-report-a-hrc-56-26-27may24/", "date": "27 May 2024" }, { "label": "OCHA · Humanitarian Situation Report, 15 October 2026", "url": "https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-situation-report-15-october-2026", "date": "15 October 2026 · Gaza Strip update" } ], "categories": [ "bombs", "artillery", "missiles" ] }, "photo": { "width": 1200, "height": 800, "date": "7 August 2024", "place": "Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip", "caption": "People in a damaged street after bombing in Deir al-Balah, as identified in the original UNRWA caption.", "alt": "People walking along a hazy street with damaged buildings and debris in Deir al-Balah.", "credit": "Ashraf Amra / UNRWA", "license": "CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_view_of_the_destruction_after_Israeli_bombing_on_Deir_el-balah,_Gaza_Strip,_August_2024.jpg", "context": "Documentary context from 2024. This photograph does not establish chemical concentrations or present-day conditions.", "src": "assets/documentary/gaza-deir-al-balah-2024.jpg", "changes": "Web display copy resized and compressed; full frame retained. Original source image also available.", "web_src": "assets/documentary/gaza-deir-al-balah-2024-960.webp", "srcset": "assets/documentary/gaza-deir-al-balah-2024-480.webp 480w, assets/documentary/gaza-deir-al-balah-2024-960.webp 960w" }, "context_update": { "title": "Water operations and flood preparation", "period": "Report dated 2 October 2026; posted 5 October 2026", "kind": "OCHA operational reporting", "summary": "OCHA reported restrictions on water and sanitation operations, reduced desalination output, and preparations for flood hazards at displacement sites.", "points": [ "The WASH Cluster estimated that 74% of the population relied on trucked drinking water during the report period.", "Supply and equipment shortages constrained waste collection and water services." ], "connection": "This documents service vulnerability and flood preparation, rather than site-specific contaminant concentrations.", "limit": "Operational estimates apply to the report period. They do not update the September 2025 UNEP debris or vegetation estimates.", "url": "https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-situation-report-2-october-2026", "source": "OCHA oPt · Humanitarian Situation Report", "locator": "Gaza: Water, Sanitation and Operational Constraints; flood preparations", "checked": "2026-10-21" }, "weapon_estimates": { "reviewed": "2026-10-27", "scope": "Selected historical benchmarks and dated examples, not a current arsenal total.", "items": [ { "kind": "Civilian holdings · Gaza-specific", "value": "Not established", "unit": "no Gaza-specific rate in the selected source", "scope": "Gaza Strip", "period": "2017 baseline source", "basis": "The Small Arms Survey lists Palestinian Territories as a combined reporting area.", "limit": "Do not assign the combined territory estimate to Gaza or to an armed group.", "url": "https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe-REV1.pdf", "source": "Small Arms Survey · Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017" }, { "kind": "Broader geographic context", "value": "1.1", "unit": "civilian firearms per 100 residents", "scope": "Palestinian Territories · NOT Gaza alone", "period": "2017", "basis": "Expert estimate; estimated total 56,000 civilian firearms.", "limit": "Not an ownership percentage or a Gaza inventory. Not representative of current conditions.", "url": "https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe-REV1.pdf", "source": "Small Arms Survey · Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017" }, { "kind": "Selected attacks examined", "value": "6", "unit": "attacks assessed, NOT bombs counted", "scope": "Israeli attacks in Gaza selected for OHCHR examination", "period": "9 October–2 December 2023", "basis": "OHCHR examined suspected use of GBU-31, GBU-32 and GBU-39 bombs.", "limit": "Selected cases, not all attacks. No total number of bombs is inferred from six incidents.", "url": "https://www.unognewsroom.org/story/en/2226/un-human-rights-briefing-on-ihl-report", "source": "UN Geneva / OHCHR briefing · 19 June 2024" } ] }, "recovery_update": { "title": "Recovery needs are different from damage estimates", "period": "Assessment published 20 April 2026, following 24 months of conflict", "kind": "UN / EU / World Bank damage and needs assessment", "summary": "The assessment estimates Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction needs at $71.4 billion over the following decade.", "points": [ "The estimate includes $26.3 billion for the first eighteen months to restore essential services, infrastructure and economic activity.", "The assessment separately reports $35.2 billion in physical infrastructure damage and $22.7 billion in economic and social losses." ], "connection": "Recovery includes restoring services and livelihoods as well as rebuilding physical assets.", "limit": "Needs, asset damage and economic losses are different accounting categories and must not be summed as one total. These are dated assessment estimates, not money already spent or a current contamination valuation.", "url": "https://palestine.un.org/en/314090-final-gaza-rapid-damage-and-needs-assessment", "source": "UN in Palestine · Final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment", "locator": "Publication overview, 20 April 2026", "checked": "2026-10-27" } }, { "id": "west-bank", "name": "Israel–Palestine: West Bank", "region": "Middle East", "lon": 35.25, "lat": 32.1, "kind": "Conflict situation", "summary": "The West Bank is mapped separately to distinguish its geography from Gaza within the same broader conflict.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/israeli-palestinian-conflict", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0, "context_update": { "title": "Agricultural access and water infrastructure", "period": "22–28 September 2026 unless otherwise specified; report dated 2 October, posted 5 October", "kind": "OCHA operational reporting", "summary": "OCHA described displacement, movement restrictions, and attacks affecting agricultural assets and services across the West Bank.", "points": [ "WASH partners responded to at least 24 incidents affecting water and sanitation infrastructure during September.", "Ahead of the olive harvest, the Food Security Sector identified access restrictions, tree and infrastructure destruction, crop theft, and input costs as challenges." ], "connection": "Loss of agricultural access and damage to irrigation or water services can disrupt livelihoods. The report does not quantify chemical contamination.", "limit": "These reported incidents cover a specified period and are not an exhaustive inventory or a legal classification of every incident.", "url": "https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-situation-report-2-october-2026", "source": "OCHA oPt · Humanitarian Situation Report", "locator": "West Bank; Impact of Access Restrictions and Settler Violence on Agricultural Livelihoods", "checked": "2026-10-21" } }, { "id": "lebanon", "name": "Israel–Hezbollah / Lebanon", "region": "Middle East", "lon": 35.6, "lat": 33.3, "kind": "Cross-border conflict", "summary": "Hostilities involving Israel and Hezbollah affect Lebanon and the border region.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/political-instability-lebanon", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": { "label": "Source-linked environmental brief", "title": "Building damage and the debris it leaves", "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "coverage": "Beirut and Mount Lebanon; UNDP findings announced 8 June 2026 and posted 9 June. Not a national or cumulative estimate of the 2024 hostilities.", "method": "Rapid building-damage assessment using GeoAI, satellite imagery and field verification.", "sources": [ { "label": "UNDP · Beirut and Mount Lebanon rapid damage assessment", "url": "https://www.undp.org/lebanon/press-releases/rapid-damage-assessment-estimates-over-us365-million-building-damage-across-beirut-and-mount-lebanon", "date": "9 June 2026; announcement dated 8 June", "locator": "Assessment methods, findings and scope caveat" } ], "findings": [ { "topic": "Debris", "text": "UNDP estimated approximately 648,942 cubic metres of debris in the assessed areas.", "basis": "Building-damage assessment and debris-volume estimation.", "limit": "Volume is not waste composition, hazardous-waste mass or measured contamination.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "waste" ], "evidence_type": "estimated", "questions": [] }, { "topic": "Buildings", "text": "The assessment identified 146 buildings completely destroyed and 264 partially damaged.", "basis": "Satellite analysis and field verification.", "limit": "These are buildings, not housing units; the geographic and assessment-period boundaries matter.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "waste" ], "evidence_type": "observed", "questions": [] }, { "topic": "Recovery planning", "text": "The findings were intended to guide recovery priorities and reconstruction planning.", "basis": "Preliminary damage evidence.", "limit": "Planning estimates do not establish that debris has been safely removed or ecosystems restored.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "waste" ], "evidence_type": "recommended", "questions": [ "recovery" ] } ], "text": "Building damage and the debris it leaves", "url": "https://www.undp.org/lebanon/press-releases/rapid-damage-assessment-estimates-over-us365-million-building-damage-across-beirut-and-mount-lebanon", "source": "UNDP · Beirut and Mount Lebanon rapid damage assessment", "topics": [ "waste" ], "why_it_matters": { "label": "Debris & rebuilding", "text": "Estimated debris volumes help planners understand the scale of removal and reconstruction in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. Waste composition and contamination need separate assessment before those volumes can tell us what treatment is needed.", "sources": [ 0 ] }, "knowledge_gap": { "unknown": "The assessed debris volume does not reveal its waste composition, contamination or whether it has been safely removed.", "needed": "Debris characterization, documented disposal routes and follow-up checks would help assess recovery in the areas covered.", "findings": [ 0, 2 ] }, "dates": { "period": "Building damage assessed for the June 2026 release; a separate damage-observation window is not established in this brief", "published": "9 June 2026 · announcement dated 8 June", "kind": "Dated assessment", "source": 0 } }, "reading_count": 1, "weapons": { "reviewed": "2026-10-25", "period": "Mixed periods: 2023–2024 white phosphorus reporting and existing 2025–2026 sources; see each item", "status": "Reported use", "items": [ { "type": "Air-delivered munitions & armed drones", "context": "UN experts describe continued Israeli air and drone strikes in Lebanon in their October 2025 statement.", "source": 0, "period": "October 2025 statement", "status": "Reported use" }, { "type": "Rockets", "context": "OHCHR describes Hezbollah rocket fire into residential areas in Israel in its update covering 2–22 March 2026.", "source": 1, "period": "2–22 March 2026 · update published 23 April 2026", "status": "Reported use" }, { "type": "White phosphorus munitions", "context": "Human Rights Watch verified Israeli white phosphorus use across southern Lebanon. This source does not establish long-term soil concentrations.", "period": "October 2023–June 2024 reporting", "status": "Use documented by HRW", "source": 2 } ], "sources": [ { "label": "OHCHR · UN experts on ceasefire violations", "url": "https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/un-experts-warn-against-continued-violations-ceasefire-lebanon-and-urge", "date": "17 October 2025" }, { "label": "OHCHR · Deaths and displacement in Lebanon", "url": "https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/lebanon/update-on-the-human-rights-situation-in-lebanon-23-04-2026.pdf", "date": "23 April 2026 · covers 2–22 March 2026" }, { "label": "Human Rights Watch · Lebanon white phosphorus investigation", "url": "https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/06/05/lebanon-israels-white-phosphorous-use-risks-civilian-harm", "date": "5 June 2024 · opening findings; incidents since October 2023" } ], "categories": [ "drones", "bombs", "missiles", "phosphorus" ] }, "weapon_estimates": { "reviewed": "2026-10-27", "scope": "Historical civilian firearm benchmark; no current military or armed-group inventory established here.", "items": [ { "kind": "Historical civilian holdings", "value": "31.9", "unit": "firearms per 100 residents", "scope": "Lebanon · civilian-held firearms", "period": "2017", "basis": "Expert estimate; estimated total 1,927,000 civilian firearms.", "limit": "Not the percentage of people who own guns, not a military inventory, and not a current-conflict count.", "url": "https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe-REV1.pdf", "source": "Small Arms Survey · Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017" } ] } }, { "id": "iran", "name": "Iran and regional hostilities", "region": "Middle East", "lon": 52, "lat": 32, "kind": "Interstate conflict", "summary": "Regional hostilities involving Iran, Israel and the United States include ceasefire periods and renewed strikes.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/confrontation-between-united-states-and-iran", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0 }, { "id": "syria", "name": "Syria", "region": "Middle East", "lon": 38.5, "lat": 35, "kind": "Conflict situation", "summary": "Multiple armed actors and foreign involvement shape Syria’s continuing conflict situation.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-syria", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": { "label": "Source-linked environmental brief", "title": "Orontes Basin: water insecurity through war", "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "coverage": "Western Syria’s Orontes Basin; PAX report published 6 November 2024, examining the preceding decade. It predates subsequent political changes.", "method": "Open-source research, remote sensing and community testimony; findings summarized from the report’s publisher.", "sources": [ { "label": "PAX · Thirst for Peace: Orontes River", "url": "https://paxforpeace.nl/news/war-and-water-security-challenges-along-the-orontes-river-in-syria/", "date": "6 November 2024", "locator": "The drivers and impacts of water insecurity in the Orontes River Basin" } ], "findings": [ { "topic": "Water infrastructure", "text": "PAX reports non-functional water and wastewater infrastructure linked to conflict damage, looting and insufficient maintenance.", "basis": "Remote sensing, open sources and community accounts.", "limit": "Infrastructure failure does not quantify contaminant concentrations at every downstream location.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "water" ], "evidence_type": "reported", "questions": [ "water" ] }, { "topic": "Pollution & access", "text": "Reported pressures include industrial discharges, inadequate infrastructure, illegal wells and changing water demand.", "basis": "Basin-scale synthesis of several pressures.", "limit": "Water insecurity predates the war; climate and governance pressures cannot all be attributed to fighting.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "water" ], "evidence_type": "assessed", "questions": [ "water" ] }, { "topic": "Ecosystems & livelihoods", "text": "The report links declining water quality and access with agricultural and ecosystem deterioration.", "basis": "Integrated water-security assessment.", "limit": "This brief does not establish a standardized basin-wide chemical survey or isolate each causal contribution.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "water", "habitats" ], "evidence_type": "assessed", "questions": [ "water", "food" ] } ], "text": "Orontes Basin: water insecurity through war", "url": "https://paxforpeace.nl/news/war-and-water-security-challenges-along-the-orontes-river-in-syria/", "source": "PAX · Thirst for Peace: Orontes River", "topics": [ "habitats", "water" ], "why_it_matters": { "label": "Water & farming", "text": "The Orontes Basin report connects damaged water services and declining water access with agricultural and ecosystem deterioration. Rebuilding infrastructure is part of recovery, alongside addressing pressures that predate the war.", "sources": [ 0 ] }, "knowledge_gap": { "unknown": "The Orontes brief does not quantify chemical conditions throughout the basin or separate all contributions from war, climate and earlier governance pressures.", "needed": "Comparable sampling across the basin, paired with infrastructure records and historical baselines, would help distinguish those pressures.", "findings": [ 1, 2 ] }, "dates": { "period": "The decade preceding the November 2024 report; individual observations cover different dates", "published": "6 November 2024", "kind": "Historical synthesis", "source": 0 } }, "reading_count": 1, "weapons": { "reviewed": "2026-10-25", "period": "2018 chemical attack; 2024 cluster incidents; 2025–2026 legacy-hazard reporting.", "status": "Historical use and explosive remnants", "items": [ { "type": "Landmines", "context": "Human Rights Watch documents landmine hazards remaining after years of fighting.", "source": 0, "period": "Legacy hazards reported 8 April 2025", "status": "Legacy explosive hazard" }, { "type": "Explosive remnants of war", "context": "UN reporting describes explosive hazards that obstruct farming, schooling and recovery, and clearance work to make land usable again. This does not establish when each weapon was deployed.", "source": 3, "period": "Hazard and clearance reporting · 4 April 2026", "status": "Legacy explosive hazard" }, { "type": "Cluster munitions", "context": "The Monitor records casualties from cluster-munition attacks in Syria in 2024; this item does not assign every incident to an actor.", "period": "2024 incidents · 2025 report", "status": "Reported use", "source": 1 }, { "type": "Chlorine used as a chemical weapon", "context": "OPCW found reasonable grounds to attribute the Douma chlorine attack to the Syrian Arab Air Forces. This historical finding does not establish a present chemical release or persistent contamination.", "period": "7 April 2018 · report published 27 January 2023", "status": "OPCW investigation finding", "source": 2 } ], "sources": [ { "label": "Human Rights Watch · Landmines and explosive remnants", "url": "https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/04/08/syria-landmines-explosive-remnants-harming-civilians", "date": "8 April 2025" }, { "label": "Cluster Munition Monitor 2025 · casualties and use", "url": "https://the-monitor.org/online-reader/cluster-munition-monitor-2025", "date": "2025 report · Casualties / New use sections; covers 2024 and reporting in 2025" }, { "label": "OPCW · Third Investigation and Identification Team report", "url": "https://www.opcw.org/media-centre/news/2023/01/opcw-releases-third-report-investigation-and-identification-team", "date": "27 January 2023 · findings on Douma, 7 April 2018" }, { "label": "UNMAS / UN Syria · Safe ground, real futures", "url": "https://unsoh.unmissions.org/en/unmas/news/safe-ground-real-futures-un-in-syria-launches-documentary-on-clearing-mines-to-enable", "date": "4 April 2026 · mine-action documentary launch" } ], "categories": [ "mines", "remnants", "cluster", "chemical" ] }, "photo": { "width": 4000, "height": 3000, "date": "5 April 2012", "place": "Bab Dreeb, Homs, Syria", "caption": "Damaged buildings in the Bab Dreeb area of Homs, as identified by the photographer.", "alt": "Rubble and damaged stone buildings in a street in Homs.", "credit": "Bo yaser", "license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Destruction_in_Homs_(9).jpg", "context": "Historical photograph from 2012. It illustrates urban damage in Homs; it does not document the Orontes water assessment below or present-day conditions.", "src": "assets/documentary/syria-homs-2012.jpg", "changes": "Web display copy resized and compressed; full frame retained. Original source image also available.", "historical": true, "web_src": "assets/documentary/syria-homs-2012-960.webp", "srcset": "assets/documentary/syria-homs-2012-480.webp 480w, assets/documentary/syria-homs-2012-960.webp 960w" }, "weapon_estimates": { "reviewed": "2026-10-27", "scope": "Historical civilian firearm benchmark; no current military or armed-group inventory established here.", "items": [ { "kind": "Historical civilian holdings", "value": "8.2", "unit": "firearms per 100 residents", "scope": "Syria · civilian-held firearms", "period": "2017", "basis": "Expert estimate; estimated total 1,547,000 civilian firearms.", "limit": "Not the percentage of people who own guns, not a military inventory, and not a current-conflict count.", "url": "https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe-REV1.pdf", "source": "Small Arms Survey · Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017" } ] } }, { "id": "iraq", "name": "Iraq", "region": "Middle East", "lon": 43.5, "lat": 34, "kind": "Conflict situation", "summary": "Armed-group activity and regional military involvement remain part of Iraq’s security situation.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/political-instability-iraq", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": { "label": "Source-linked environmental brief", "title": "Qayyarah: the oil-fire legacy", "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "coverage": "Northern Iraq; oil wells burned in 2016, followed by UNEP reporting on remaining waste and a September 2019 remediation initiative. Historical case, not a 2026 site survey.", "method": "UNEP operational reporting drawing on site observations, oil-company and ministry accounts, and a remediation demonstration.", "sources": [ { "label": "UNEP · Microbes offer hope of cleaning up Iraq conflict’s pollution legacy", "url": "https://www.unep.org/en/news-and-stories/story/microbes-offer-hope-cleaning-iraq-conflicts-pollution-legacy", "date": "Historical reporting covering 2016–2019", "locator": "Oil fires, residual oil pools and September 2019 pilot" } ], "findings": [ { "topic": "Oil & soil", "text": "UNEP describes crude oil flowing into streets and seasonal channels after oil wells were set alight.", "basis": "Reported events and site observations.", "limit": "This documents an oil-pollution legacy, not present-day concentrations or a national prevalence estimate.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "soil" ], "evidence_type": "reported", "questions": [] }, { "topic": "Water pathways", "text": "Officials raised concern that 2018–2019 rains washed oil from holding pits toward the Tigris.", "basis": "Reported official concerns about flooding and oil movement.", "limit": "A reported transport pathway is not a quantified downstream concentration or exposure dose.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "water" ], "evidence_type": "reported", "questions": [ "water" ] }, { "topic": "Remediation", "text": "A pilot and training initiative explored biological treatment of oil-contaminated material.", "basis": "Operational demonstration and capacity-building.", "limit": "Launching a pilot does not prove site-wide cleanup or establish an attenuation rate.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "soil" ], "evidence_type": "reported", "questions": [ "recovery" ] } ], "text": "Qayyarah: the oil-fire legacy", "url": "https://www.unep.org/en/news-and-stories/story/microbes-offer-hope-cleaning-iraq-conflicts-pollution-legacy", "source": "UNEP · Microbes offer hope of cleaning up Iraq conflict’s pollution legacy", "topics": [ "soil", "water" ], "why_it_matters": { "label": "Oil, runoff & recovery", "text": "The northern Iraq case shows how burned oil infrastructure can leave pollution long after the initial destruction. Reported movement toward waterways makes follow-up investigation important; a cleanup pilot does not demonstrate that the whole area has recovered.", "sources": [ 0 ] }, "knowledge_gap": { "unknown": "The historical northern Iraq case does not establish current oil concentrations, downstream exposure or site-wide cleanup success.", "needed": "Repeat site and downstream sampling, plus documented cleanup outcomes, would help establish what remains and whether treatment worked.", "findings": [ 0, 1, 2 ] }, "dates": { "period": "Oil-well fires in 2016; rain-related concerns in 2018–2019; remediation initiative in September 2019", "published": "Publication date not established in this brief", "kind": "Historical case", "source": 0 } }, "reading_count": 2, "weapons": { "reviewed": "2026-10-25", "period": "2024 cluster-remnant incidents; 2025 hazard reporting; January–March 2026 clearance.", "status": "Explosive remnants · not evidence of new use", "items": [ { "type": "Landmines & improvised explosive devices", "context": "UNMAS lists landmines and IEDs among remaining explosive hazards.", "source": 0, "period": "Remaining hazards reported 5 February 2025", "status": "Legacy explosive hazard" }, { "type": "IEDs & other explosive remnants", "context": "UNMAS reports clearance of IEDs and explosive remnants in Ninewa during this quarter. Clearance documents a remaining hazard; it does not establish new use during the reporting period.", "source": 2, "period": "1 January–31 March 2026", "status": "Clearance reporting" }, { "type": "Cluster-munition remnants", "context": "The Monitor records casualties from unexploded submunitions in Iraq in 2024. This is evidence of a remaining hazard, not new use.", "period": "2024 remnant incidents · 2025 report", "status": "Legacy explosive hazard", "source": 1 } ], "sources": [ { "label": "UNMAS · Additional support for mine action in Iraq", "url": "https://www.unmissions.org/en/unmas/news/the-government-of-the-slovak-republic-and-the-governemet-of-estonia-provide-additional", "date": "5 February 2025" }, { "label": "Cluster Munition Monitor 2025 · casualties and use", "url": "https://the-monitor.org/online-reader/cluster-munition-monitor-2025", "date": "2025 report · Casualties / New use sections; covers 2024 and reporting in 2025" }, { "label": "UNMAS Iraq · January–March 2026 factsheet", "url": "https://www.unmas.org/sites/default/files/2026-04/UNMAS%20Iraq%20Factsheet%201%20Jan-%2031%20March%202026_Final.pdf", "date": "Reporting period: 1 January–31 March 2026" } ], "categories": [ "mines", "ied", "remnants", "cluster" ] }, "photo": { "width": 594, "height": 460, "date": "21 June 2017", "place": "Al-Nuri Mosque, Mosul, Iraq", "caption": "Aerial view of the destroyed al-Nuri Mosque, identified in the source as the aftermath of its destruction by ISIS.", "alt": "Aerial view of the damaged al-Nuri Mosque compound in Mosul.", "credit": "Operation Inherent Resolve / U.S. government", "license": "Public domain · U.S. government work", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_aftermath_of_an_ISIS_atrocity_destroying_the_al_Nuri_mosque_in_Mosul,_Iraq.jpg", "context": "Historical photograph from 2017, supplied by a military source. Mosul is separate from the northern Iraq oil-pollution case below; this image does not establish chemical contamination.", "src": "assets/documentary/iraq-mosul-2017.jpg", "changes": "Web display copy resized and compressed; full frame retained. Original source image also available.", "historical": true, "web_src": "assets/documentary/iraq-mosul-2017-960.webp", "srcset": "assets/documentary/iraq-mosul-2017-480.webp 480w, assets/documentary/iraq-mosul-2017-960.webp 594w" }, "weapon_estimates": { "reviewed": "2026-10-27", "scope": "Historical civilian firearm benchmark; no current military or armed-group inventory established here.", "items": [ { "kind": "Historical civilian holdings", "value": "19.6", "unit": "firearms per 100 residents", "scope": "Iraq · civilian-held firearms", "period": "2017", "basis": "Expert estimate; estimated total 7,588,000 civilian firearms.", "limit": "Not the percentage of people who own guns, not a military inventory, and not a current-conflict count.", "url": "https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe-REV1.pdf", "source": "Small Arms Survey · Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017" } ] } }, { "id": "yemen", "name": "Yemen and the Red Sea", "region": "Middle East", "lon": 44.5, "lat": 15, "kind": "Conflict situation", "summary": "Yemen’s internal conflict intersects with Houthi attacks and military activity around the Red Sea.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/war-yemen", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": { "label": "Source-linked environmental brief", "title": "When waste collection breaks down", "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "coverage": "Yemen; 2025 report on the solid-waste sector during a decade of conflict. Conditions vary by locality.", "method": "PAX/European Institute of Peace report combining remote sensing, open-source investigation, interviews and policy analysis.", "sources": [ { "label": "PAX · From Waste to Resolution: report and methods", "url": "https://paxforpeace.nl/news/webinar-launch-from-waste-to-resolution-in-yemen/", "date": "1 September 2025", "locator": "Report description and methods" }, { "label": "Weathering Risk / EIP · From Waste to Resolution", "url": "https://weatheringrisk.org/en/publication/waste-resolution-assessing-impact-armed-conflict-solid-waste-sector-yemen", "date": "15 September 2025", "locator": "Publication summary; governance, pollution and recovery" } ], "findings": [ { "topic": "Waste & infrastructure", "text": "The report describes waste accumulation, illicit dumping and burning amid damaged services and institutional breakdown.", "basis": "Mixed-method investigation of the solid-waste sector.", "limit": "Waste-site observations do not quantify every contaminant or exposure pathway.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "waste" ], "evidence_type": "assessed", "questions": [] }, { "topic": "Land, water & air", "text": "The publication describes pollution associated with uncontrolled dumping and inadequate collection, disposal and treatment.", "basis": "Sector assessment and governance analysis.", "limit": "This brief reports the publication summary; no standardized nationwide chemical sampling dataset is presented here.", "source": 1, "topics": [ "waste", "water", "soil" ], "evidence_type": "assessed", "questions": [ "water" ] }, { "topic": "Recovery", "text": "The authors identify better waste governance, technical cooperation and local livelihoods as entry points for recovery and peacebuilding.", "basis": "Policy and institutional recommendations.", "limit": "These are proposed responses, not evaluated evidence that recovery has already occurred.", "source": 1, "topics": [ "waste" ], "evidence_type": "recommended", "questions": [ "recovery" ] } ], "text": "When waste collection breaks down", "url": "https://paxforpeace.nl/news/webinar-launch-from-waste-to-resolution-in-yemen/", "source": "PAX · From Waste to Resolution: report and methods", "topics": [ "soil", "waste", "water" ], "why_it_matters": { "label": "Waste services & recovery", "text": "When collection and disposal systems break down, waste accumulates and uncontrolled dumping and burning increase. The report identifies restoring waste services and local livelihoods as possible recovery priorities, rather than evidence that recovery is complete.", "sources": [ 0 ] }, "knowledge_gap": { "unknown": "The waste-sector brief does not present nationwide chemical sampling or evaluated evidence that its recovery proposals have succeeded.", "needed": "Local waste and environmental measurements, together with service-restoration records and outcome evaluations, would help test the proposals.", "findings": [ 1, 2 ] }, "dates": { "period": "A decade of conflict examined in the 2025 waste-sector report; conditions vary by locality", "published": "1 September 2025 · PAX report listing", "kind": "Dated assessment", "source": 0 } }, "reading_count": 2, "weapons": { "reviewed": "2026-10-25", "period": "1 August 2024–31 July 2025 · UN Panel reporting period", "status": "Reported use", "items": [ { "type": "Missiles & attack drones", "context": "The Panel describes Houthi attacks involving missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, including attacks on shipping. This is a selected account for the stated period, not a current inventory.", "source": 0, "period": "1 August 2024–31 July 2025 · UN Panel reporting period", "status": "Reported use" }, { "type": "Air-delivered munitions", "context": "The report describes Israeli strikes and United States air and naval strikes. This is a selected summary, not a full inventory.", "source": 0, "period": "1 August 2024–31 July 2025 · UN Panel reporting period", "status": "Reported use" } ], "sources": [ { "label": "UN Panel of Experts on Yemen · 2025 report", "url": "https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n25/234/09/pdf/n2523409.pdf", "date": "15 October 2025" } ], "categories": [ "drones", "missiles", "bombs" ] }, "photo": { "width": 4128, "height": 3096, "date": "21 April 2015", "place": "Sana’a, Yemen", "caption": "Residential damage near Attan following the 20 April 2015 airstrike, according to the photographer’s description.", "alt": "Damaged buildings, wrecked vehicles and debris in a residential area of Sana’a.", "credit": "Ibrahem Qasim", "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sana'a_after_airstrike_20-4-2015_-_Widespread_destruction-_15.jpg", "context": "Historical photograph from 2015. It provides context for destruction in Yemen; it does not document the waste-sector study below or present-day conditions.", "src": "assets/documentary/yemen-sanaa-2015.jpg", "changes": "Web display copy resized and compressed; full frame retained. Original source image also available.", "historical": true, "web_src": "assets/documentary/yemen-sanaa-2015-960.webp", "srcset": "assets/documentary/yemen-sanaa-2015-480.webp 480w, assets/documentary/yemen-sanaa-2015-960.webp 960w" }, "weapon_estimates": { "reviewed": "2026-10-27", "scope": "Selected historical benchmarks and dated examples, not a current arsenal total.", "items": [ { "kind": "Historical civilian holdings", "value": "52.8", "unit": "firearms per 100 residents", "scope": "Yemen · civilian-held firearms", "period": "2017", "basis": "Expert estimate; estimated total 14,859,000 civilian firearms.", "limit": "Not the percentage of people who own guns, not a military inventory, and not a current-conflict count.", "url": "https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe-REV1.pdf", "source": "Small Arms Survey · Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017" }, { "kind": "Reported seizure", "value": "2,116", "unit": "AK-47 assault rifles", "scope": "U.S. Navy interception in Gulf of Oman; reported Iran–Yemen route", "period": "6 January 2023", "basis": "U.S. Navy statement published 10 January 2023.", "limit": "One intercepted shipment outside Yemen, not weapons delivered or held by the Houthis. Source attribution is the Navy’s.", "url": "https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/display-news/Article/3263315/us-navy-intercepts-more-than-2000-assault-rifles-shipped-from-iran/", "source": "U.S. Navy · 10 January 2023" } ] } }, { "id": "sudan", "name": "Sudan", "region": "Africa", "lon": 30, "lat": 15, "kind": "Internal conflict", "summary": "Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces, Rapid Support Forces and associated groups continues.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/power-struggle-sudan", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": { "label": "Source-linked environmental brief", "title": "Sunut Forest: conflict, fuel scarcity, and habitat loss", "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "coverage": "Sunut Forest and greater Khartoum; UNEP reporting from April 2026. This is a local case, not a national forest-loss estimate.", "method": "Technically reviewed UNEP reporting with local observations and interviews; not a chemical monitoring survey.", "sources": [ { "label": "UNEP · Can this iconic Sudanese forest come back from the brink?", "url": "https://www.unep.org/en/news-and-stories/story/can-iconic-sudanese-forest-come-back-brink", "date": "15 April 2026", "locator": "Effects of war; Key flyway; restoration discussion" } ], "findings": [ { "topic": "Forests & habitat", "text": "UNEP describes extensive felling of Sunut’s acacias, reducing a former bird and wildlife refuge.", "basis": "Reported landscape observations and local expert accounts.", "limit": "The article does not provide a standardized national forest inventory or quantified species-population trend.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "forests", "habitats" ], "evidence_type": "reported", "questions": [] }, { "topic": "Energy & livelihoods", "text": "War-damaged services, poverty and fuel shortages pushed residents toward cutting and selling firewood.", "basis": "Interviews and reporting on disrupted services.", "limit": "This describes an indirect conflict pathway; it does not assign every tree loss to one actor or cause.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "forests" ], "evidence_type": "reported", "questions": [] }, { "topic": "Recovery", "text": "UNEP reports early regeneration and calls for protection, native vegetation restoration and alternative livelihoods.", "basis": "Local observations and recovery recommendations.", "limit": "Regrowth does not establish recovery of the former forest’s ecological functions.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "forests", "habitats" ], "evidence_type": "recommended", "questions": [ "recovery" ] } ], "text": "Sunut Forest: conflict, fuel scarcity, and habitat loss", "url": "https://www.unep.org/en/news-and-stories/story/can-iconic-sudanese-forest-come-back-brink", "source": "UNEP · Can this iconic Sudanese forest come back from the brink?", "topics": [ "forests", "habitats" ], "why_it_matters": { "label": "Habitats & fuel needs", "text": "The Sunut Forest account connects loss of wildlife habitat with households’ need for fuel and income during war. Its recovery proposals address both vegetation and livelihoods; early regrowth does not mean the former ecosystem has returned.", "sources": [ 0 ] }, "knowledge_gap": { "unknown": "The Sunut account does not establish recovery of the forest’s former ecological functions or a national forest-loss rate.", "needed": "Repeated local vegetation and wildlife surveys would help assess ecological recovery; wider coverage would be needed for national claims.", "findings": [ 0, 2 ] }, "dates": { "period": "Sunut Forest conditions described in April 2026 reporting; a separate survey window is not established in this brief", "published": "15 April 2026", "kind": "Dated reporting", "source": 0 } }, "reading_count": 1, "weapons": { "reviewed": "2026-10-25", "period": "October 2026 drone reporting; January–June 2025 artillery and airstrike findings.", "status": "Reported use", "items": [ { "type": "Artillery", "context": "OHCHR reports artillery shelling by conflict parties.", "source": 0, "period": "1 January–30 June 2025", "status": "Reported use" }, { "type": "Air-delivered munitions", "context": "Airstrikes feature in the UN account, including strikes attributed to the Sudanese Armed Forces.", "source": 0, "period": "1 January–30 June 2025", "status": "Reported use" }, { "type": "Drones", "context": "OHCHR reports an escalation in drone attacks and civilian deaths in October. This summary does not assign every attack to an actor or identify a drone model.", "source": 1, "period": "October 2026 · statement published 23 October", "status": "UN reporting" } ], "sources": [ { "label": "UN Sudan / OHCHR · Sudan crisis deepens", "url": "https://sudan.un.org/en/301876-sudan-crisis-deepens-amid-rising-civilian-casualties-growing-ethnic-violence-and-grim", "date": "19 September 2025 · covers first half of 2025" }, { "label": "OHCHR · Surge in drone attacks in Sudan", "url": "https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/10/sudan-turk-alarmed-surge-drone-attacks-killing-hundreds-october", "date": "23 October 2026 · press statement" } ], "categories": [ "artillery", "bombs", "drones" ] }, "context_update": { "title": "Sunut Forest: conflict, fuel and recovery", "period": "UNEP story, 15 April 2026; not an October battlefield update", "kind": "UNEP reporting and expert interpretation", "summary": "UNEP described extensive loss of Khartoum’s Sunut Forest as damaged services, fuel shortages and poverty increased pressure to cut trees.", "points": [ "The forest historically occupied about six square kilometres near the Blue and White Nile confluence.", "UNEP linked restoration needs to protection from logging, alternative livelihoods, and renewed environmental governance." ], "connection": "This case links household energy needs, habitat loss and flood-buffering concerns. Restoration depends on people’s ability to meet basic needs as well as tree planting.", "limit": "A reported case study, not a national deforestation survey or a measured estimate of increased flood probability.", "url": "https://www.unep.org/en/news-and-stories/story/can-iconic-sudanese-forest-come-back-brink", "source": "UNEP · Can this iconic Sudanese forest come back from the brink?", "locator": "Effects of war; Key flyway; restoration discussion", "checked": "2026-10-21" }, "weapon_estimates": { "reviewed": "2026-10-27", "scope": "Selected historical benchmarks and dated examples, not a current arsenal total.", "items": [ { "kind": "Historical civilian holdings", "value": "6.6", "unit": "firearms per 100 residents", "scope": "Sudan · civilian-held firearms", "period": "2017", "basis": "Expert estimate; estimated total 2,768,000 civilian firearms.", "limit": "Not the percentage of people who own guns, not a military inventory, and not a current-conflict count.", "url": "https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe-REV1.pdf", "source": "Small Arms Survey · Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017" }, { "kind": "Reported exports", "value": "At least 650", "unit": "FD63 shotguns", "scope": "Exports to Sudan, via Erdinç Doğa Av Malzemeleri to Al-Bayarg", "period": "2022–2023", "basis": "Amnesty International analysis of shipment-level trade data.", "limit": "One weapon model and trade channel; not all weapons in Sudan or a count assigned to SAF or RSF.", "url": "https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2024/07/new-weapons-fuelling-the-sudan-conflict/", "source": "Amnesty International · July 2024 · Turkish shotguns section" } ] } }, { "id": "south-sudan", "name": "South Sudan", "region": "Africa", "lon": 30, "lat": 7, "kind": "Conflict situation", "summary": "Political and armed confrontations continue to threaten civilians and the peace process.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/civil-war-south-sudan", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0 }, { "id": "ethiopia", "name": "Ethiopia", "region": "Africa", "lon": 39.5, "lat": 10.8, "kind": "Internal conflict", "summary": "Conflicts involving state forces and armed groups affect several parts of Ethiopia.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-ethiopia", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0, "weapon_estimates": { "reviewed": "2026-10-27", "scope": "Historical civilian firearm benchmark; no current military or armed-group inventory established here.", "items": [ { "kind": "Historical civilian holdings", "value": "0.4", "unit": "firearms per 100 residents", "scope": "Ethiopia · civilian-held firearms", "period": "2017", "basis": "Expert estimate; estimated total 377,000 civilian firearms.", "limit": "Not the percentage of people who own guns, not a military inventory, and not a current-conflict count. National estimate, not a count for an individual conflict area.", "url": "https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe-REV1.pdf", "source": "Small Arms Survey · Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017" } ] } }, { "id": "somalia", "name": "Somalia", "region": "Africa", "lon": 45.5, "lat": 3.5, "kind": "Internal conflict", "summary": "Somali and partner forces continue to confront al-Shabaab amid wider political insecurity.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/al-shabab-somalia", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0, "weapons": { "reviewed": "2026-10-25", "period": "Cumulative programme results, 2019–February 2026", "status": "Reported explosive threat", "categories": [ "ied" ], "items": [ { "type": "Improvised explosive devices (IEDs)", "context": "UNMAS reports IEDs located and cleared by trained forces over this period. These cumulative results document an explosive threat, not a count of new attacks in 2026.", "period": "Cumulative clearance reporting: 2019–February 2026", "status": "Clearance reporting", "source": 1 } ], "sources": [ { "label": "UNMAS · Somalia explosive-threat mitigation", "url": "https://unmas.org/en/news/unmas-somalia-welcomes-government-of-japan-support-for-explosive-threat-mitigation", "date": "20 March 2025 · programme announcement" }, { "label": "UNMAS · Somalia programme profile", "url": "https://unmas.org/en/where-we-work/somalia", "date": "Rolling programme profile · cumulative results through February 2026" } ] }, "weapon_estimates": { "reviewed": "2026-10-27", "scope": "Historical civilian firearm benchmark; no current military or armed-group inventory established here.", "items": [ { "kind": "Historical civilian holdings", "value": "12.4", "unit": "firearms per 100 residents", "scope": "Somalia (South Central) · civilian-held firearms", "period": "2017", "basis": "Expert estimate; estimated total 1,145,000 civilian firearms.", "limit": "Not the percentage of people who own guns, not a military inventory, and not a current-conflict count. The source lists Somaliland separately; this is not an all-Somalia figure.", "url": "https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe-REV1.pdf", "source": "Small Arms Survey · Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017" } ] } }, { "id": "drc", "name": "Eastern DR Congo", "region": "Africa", "lon": 28.5, "lat": -1, "kind": "Internal conflict", "summary": "Multiple armed conflicts affect eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, including fighting involving M23.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congo", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": { "label": "Source-linked environmental brief", "title": "Artisanal gold, mercury and forest loss", "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "coverage": "Eastern DR Congo; historical UNEP account describing a 2016 assessment at Butuzi and Some, and traceability milestones in 2017. Not an assessment of today’s M23 front lines.", "method": "UNEP reporting on an environmental assessment with national authorities and IMPACT, alongside responsible-sourcing work.", "sources": [ { "label": "UNEP · Taking traceable conflict-free gold from DR Congo to international markets", "url": "https://www.unep.org/en/news-and-stories/story/taking-traceable-conflict-free-gold-dr-congo-international-markets", "date": "Historical account referencing 2016 assessment and 2017 milestones", "locator": "Butuzi forest cover; mercury assessment; Just Gold project" } ], "findings": [ { "topic": "Mercury", "text": "UNEP reports that mercury pollution was assessed at two artisanal gold-mining sites: Butuzi and Some.", "basis": "Reported environmental assessment at named sites.", "limit": "This summary does not reproduce concentrations; two sites cannot represent all eastern Congo.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "mining" ], "evidence_type": "reported", "questions": [] }, { "topic": "Forest habitat", "text": "Butuzi occupied an area described as formerly forested and subsequently almost entirely cleared.", "basis": "Site description in UNEP reporting.", "limit": "The account is not a regional forest-change inventory or a measurement of species loss.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "forests", "habitats" ], "evidence_type": "reported", "questions": [] }, { "topic": "Responsible sourcing", "text": "UNEP describes traceability and mercury-reduction support intended to improve artisanal gold production.", "basis": "Documented programme and supply-chain work.", "limit": "Not all artisanal mining finances armed groups; traceability alone does not demonstrate pollution removal.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "mining" ], "evidence_type": "reported", "questions": [ "recovery" ] } ], "text": "Artisanal gold, mercury and forest loss", "url": "https://www.unep.org/en/news-and-stories/story/taking-traceable-conflict-free-gold-dr-congo-international-markets", "source": "UNEP · Taking traceable conflict-free gold from DR Congo to international markets", "topics": [ "forests", "habitats", "mining" ], "why_it_matters": { "label": "Mining, forests & mercury", "text": "The historical Butuzi and Some cases connect artisanal gold production with mercury pollution and local forest loss. They illustrate why mining practices matter to environmental recovery, without representing all mines or today’s front lines.", "sources": [ 0 ] }, "knowledge_gap": { "unknown": "The historical two-site mining account does not establish regional mercury levels or show that traceability removed pollution.", "needed": "Site-specific mercury data and follow-up assessments of mining practices and restoration would help evaluate environmental outcomes.", "findings": [ 0, 2 ] }, "dates": { "period": "Assessment at Butuzi and Some in 2016; traceability milestones in 2017", "published": "Publication date not established in this brief", "kind": "Historical case", "source": 0 } }, "reading_count": 1, "weapons": { "reviewed": "2026-10-25", "period": "Incidents covered by the 2024 UN Group of Experts report", "status": "Reported use", "items": [ { "type": "Heavy artillery", "context": "The Group of Experts describes heavy artillery used by M23/ARC.", "source": 0, "period": "Incidents documented in S/2024/432 · 2024 report", "status": "Reported use" }, { "type": "Mortars & rockets", "context": "Mortar and rocket fire by M23/ARC is described in the report. This does not represent all actors or all fighting in eastern DR Congo.", "source": 0, "period": "Incidents documented in S/2024/432 · 2024 report", "status": "Reported use" } ], "sources": [ { "label": "UN Group of Experts on DR Congo · S/2024/432", "url": "https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n24/118/80/pdf/n2411880.pdf", "date": "4 June 2024 · paragraphs 50–54; Annex 62" } ], "categories": [ "artillery", "missiles" ] }, "context_update": { "title": "Displacement, access and food systems", "period": "European Commission country brief; page states updated 8 June 2026; component figures cover different periods", "kind": "Humanitarian country overview", "summary": "The EU humanitarian overview describes persistent violence in eastern DRC, repeated displacement, constrained aid access and disrupted livelihoods.", "points": [ "The overview links conflict, displacement, and restricted access to land and markets with food insecurity.", "It identifies water, sanitation, health and shelter among response priorities." ], "connection": "This adds human and service context to the atlas’s environmental brief; it does not demonstrate a new contaminant pathway.", "limit": "The overview combines dates and includes countrywide information. Figures should not be treated as eastern-DRC-only totals or current October observations.", "url": "https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/where/africa/democratic-republic-congo_en", "source": "European Commission / ECHO · Democratic Republic of the Congo", "locator": "What are the needs?; Conflicts and crises; Humanitarian projects", "checked": "2026-10-21" }, "weapon_estimates": { "reviewed": "2026-10-27", "scope": "Historical civilian firearm benchmark; no current military or armed-group inventory established here.", "items": [ { "kind": "Historical civilian holdings", "value": "1.2", "unit": "firearms per 100 residents", "scope": "DR Congo (national) · civilian-held firearms", "period": "2017", "basis": "Expert estimate; estimated total 946,000 civilian firearms.", "limit": "Not the percentage of people who own guns, not a military inventory, and not a current-conflict count. National estimate, not a count for eastern DR Congo or any armed group.", "url": "https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe-REV1.pdf", "source": "Small Arms Survey · Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017" } ] } }, { "id": "car", "name": "Central African Republic", "region": "Africa", "lon": 20.8, "lat": 6.6, "kind": "Internal conflict", "summary": "Armed groups and state-aligned forces remain part of a protracted conflict situation.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-central-african-republic", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0, "weapon_estimates": { "reviewed": "2026-10-27", "scope": "Historical civilian firearm benchmark; no current military or armed-group inventory established here.", "items": [ { "kind": "Historical civilian holdings", "value": "1.8", "unit": "firearms per 100 residents", "scope": "Central African Republic · civilian-held firearms", "period": "2017", "basis": "Expert estimate; estimated total 94,000 civilian firearms.", "limit": "Not the percentage of people who own guns, not a military inventory, and not a current-conflict count.", "url": "https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe-REV1.pdf", "source": "Small Arms Survey · Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017" } ] } }, { "id": "mali", "name": "Mali", "region": "Africa", "lon": -3.5, "lat": 17, "kind": "Internal conflict", "summary": "State forces, separatist groups and jihadist groups are involved in overlapping conflicts.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violent-extremism-sahel", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0, "weapon_estimates": { "reviewed": "2026-10-27", "scope": "Historical civilian firearm benchmark; no current military or armed-group inventory established here.", "items": [ { "kind": "Historical civilian holdings", "value": "1.1", "unit": "firearms per 100 residents", "scope": "Mali · civilian-held firearms", "period": "2017", "basis": "Expert estimate; estimated total 206,000 civilian firearms.", "limit": "Not the percentage of people who own guns, not a military inventory, and not a current-conflict count.", "url": "https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe-REV1.pdf", "source": "Small Arms Survey · Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017" } ] } }, { "id": "burkina", "name": "Burkina Faso", "region": "Africa", "lon": -1.6, "lat": 12.5, "kind": "Internal conflict", "summary": "Armed conflict between state-aligned forces and jihadist groups affects communities across the country.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violent-extremism-sahel", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0 }, { "id": "niger", "name": "Niger", "region": "Africa", "lon": 7.8, "lat": 16, "kind": "Internal conflict", "summary": "Jihadist armed-group activity affects Niger’s western and southeastern border regions.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violent-extremism-sahel", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0 }, { "id": "myanmar", "name": "Myanmar", "region": "Asia & Pacific", "lon": 96, "lat": 21, "kind": "Internal conflict", "summary": "The military and multiple resistance and ethnic armed organizations remain engaged in civil war.", "sources": [ { "label": "CFR · Global Conflict Tracker", "url": "https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/rohingya-crisis-myanmar", "period": "Rolling background and news page" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": { "label": "Source-linked environmental brief", "title": "Kachin’s rare-earth mining landscape", "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "coverage": "Kachin State; Global Witness investigation published May 2024, including satellite comparisons and trade data through 2023. It predates later changes in territorial control.", "method": "Investigative report combining satellite imagery, trade analysis, interviews and water-sampling data reviewed by the authors.", "sources": [ { "label": "Global Witness · Fuelling the future, poisoning the present", "url": "https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/transition-minerals/fuelling-the-future-poisoning-the-present-myanmars-rare-earth-boom/", "date": "23 May 2024", "locator": "Burning chemicals, poisoned streams; Rare earth leaching spreads across Kachin" } ], "findings": [ { "topic": "Mining & land", "text": "Satellite analysis identified more than 300 mining sites in Kachin Special Region 1, over 40% more than in 2021.", "basis": "Satellite-based site identification, compared through 2023.", "limit": "A mapped mine count is not a measurement of contaminated land area.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "mining", "soil" ], "evidence_type": "observed", "questions": [] }, { "topic": "Water chemistry", "text": "The investigators report sampling data showing high acidity and elevated arsenic in several streams.", "basis": "Water-sampling data seen by Global Witness.", "limit": "This brief does not reproduce the sampling design or concentrations; the result cannot represent all waterways.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "water", "mining" ], "evidence_type": "measurement_reported", "questions": [ "water" ] }, { "topic": "Conflict linkage", "text": "The report links mining expansion to armed-group-controlled territories and revenue incentives, including groups on opposing sides.", "basis": "Interviews, trade data and territorial context.", "limit": "Mining pollution is not automatically a munitions residue. Attribution and territorial control are time-specific.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "mining" ], "evidence_type": "assessed", "questions": [] } ], "text": "Kachin’s rare-earth mining landscape", "url": "https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/transition-minerals/fuelling-the-future-poisoning-the-present-myanmars-rare-earth-boom/", "source": "Global Witness · Fuelling the future, poisoning the present", "topics": [ "mining", "soil", "water" ], "why_it_matters": { "label": "Mining & streams", "text": "The Kachin investigation reports mining expansion alongside acidic water and elevated arsenic in several streams. These findings make mining a distinct environmental concern in the reported setting; they do not establish that munitions caused the pollution.", "sources": [ 0 ] }, "knowledge_gap": { "unknown": "This Kachin brief does not reproduce the water-sampling design or concentrations, and cannot establish conditions in all waterways.", "needed": "Access to the underlying sampling methods and results, plus repeat sampling across additional sites, would help assess extent and change.", "findings": [ 1 ] }, "dates": { "period": "Satellite comparisons and trade data through 2023, discussed in the May 2024 investigation", "published": "23 May 2024", "kind": "Historical investigation", "source": 0 } }, "reading_count": 1, "weapons": { "reviewed": "2026-10-25", "period": "2025 airstrike and artillery findings; 2024 mine, remnant and cluster evidence.", "status": "Reported use and explosive remnants", "items": [ { "type": "Air-delivered munitions", "context": "OHCHR documents military airstrikes.", "source": 2, "period": "2025 incidents · annual update published February 2026", "status": "UN monitoring" }, { "type": "Artillery", "context": "Artillery shelling is documented in the annual update.", "source": 2, "period": "2025 incidents · annual update published February 2026", "status": "UN monitoring" }, { "type": "Landmines & unexploded ordnance", "context": "The report also describes mine hazards and explosive remnants from fighting.", "source": 0, "period": "2024 hazards · OHCHR annual update", "status": "Explosive-hazard reporting" }, { "type": "Cluster munitions", "context": "The Monitor reports cluster-munition aerial attacks by Myanmar Armed Forces in 2024.", "period": "2024 incidents · 2025 report", "status": "Reported use", "source": 1 } ], "sources": [ { "label": "OHCHR · Myanmar annual update 2024", "url": "https://bangkok.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/2025-02/AnnualUpdateontheHumanRightsSituationinMyanmar2024.pdf", "date": "2025 publication · covers 2024" }, { "label": "Cluster Munition Monitor 2025 · casualties and use", "url": "https://the-monitor.org/online-reader/cluster-munition-monitor-2025", "date": "2025 report · Casualties / New use sections; covers 2024 and reporting in 2025" }, { "label": "OHCHR · Myanmar annual update 2025", "url": "https://bangkok.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/2026-02/ohchr_myanmar_annual_update_2025.pdf", "date": "February 2026 · 2025 annual update, pages 5–6" } ], "categories": [ "bombs", "artillery", "mines", "remnants", "cluster" ] }, "context_update": { "title": "Conflict combined with disaster and economic strain", "period": "2026 response-plan foreword, published 10 December 2025", "kind": "Humanitarian planning baseline", "summary": "The UN response-plan foreword describes overlapping armed conflict, natural disasters and economic collapse, compounded by the March 2025 earthquake.", "points": [ "The foreword estimated 16.2 million people needed humanitarian assistance entering 2026.", "It reported more than four million displaced people, many displaced repeatedly." ], "connection": "Overlapping pressures make it important to distinguish conflict-related damage from earthquake effects and other drivers.", "limit": "Planning figures are not October 2026 population counts or measures of environmental contamination. This update does not resolve those attribution questions.", "url": "https://myanmar.un.org/en/308519-myanmar-humanitarian-needs-and-response-plan-2026", "source": "United Nations in Myanmar / OCHA · 2026 response plan", "locator": "Foreword, 10 December 2025", "checked": "2026-10-21" }, "weapon_estimates": { "reviewed": "2026-10-27", "scope": "Selected historical benchmarks and dated examples, not a current arsenal total.", "items": [ { "kind": "Historical civilian holdings", "value": "1.6", "unit": "firearms per 100 residents", "scope": "Myanmar · civilian-held firearms", "period": "2017", "basis": "Analogous comparison; estimated total 877,000 civilian firearms.", "limit": "Not the percentage of people who own guns, not a military inventory, and not a current-conflict count.", "url": "https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe-REV1.pdf", "source": "Small Arms Survey · Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017" }, { "kind": "Reported procurement value", "value": "US$253 million", "unit": "value of weapons and military supplies", "scope": "Myanmar military junta · purchases through the international financial system", "period": "April 2023–March 2024", "basis": "UN Special Rapporteur report A/HRC/56/CRP.7.", "limit": "Money, not a weapon count. Includes related materials; cannot be converted into a number of weapons or an operational inventory.", "url": "https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session56/a-hrc-56-crp-7.pdf", "source": "UN Special Rapporteur · 26 June 2024" } ] } }, { "id": "afghan-pakistan", "name": "Afghanistan–Pakistan border", "region": "Asia & Pacific", "lon": 70.5, "lat": 33, "kind": "Cross-border conflict", "summary": "Cross-border hostilities have affected communities on both sides of the Afghanistan–Pakistan frontier.", "sources": [ { "label": "ICRC · Hostilities statement", "url": "https://www.icrc.org/en/statement/icrc-president-calls-restraint-and-de-escalation-amidst-hostilities-afghanistan-pakistan", "period": "27 February 2026; escalation statement" }, { "label": "AP · Border fighting", "url": "https://apnews.com/article/af35955a49d8ec9948b4a946bf07d37c", "period": "17 October 2026" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0 }, { "id": "pakistan", "name": "Pakistan: insurgencies", "region": "Asia & Pacific", "lon": 67, "lat": 29, "kind": "Internal conflict", "summary": "Militant violence in the northwest and Balochistan is distinct from the interstate border conflict.", "sources": [ { "label": "Reuters · Conflict background", "url": "https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/what-has-turned-afghan-taliban-pakistan-partners-foes-2026-09-25/", "period": "25 September 2026" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0 }, { "id": "lake-chad", "name": "Lake Chad / northeastern Nigeria", "region": "Africa", "lon": 13.2, "lat": 12, "kind": "Regional conflict", "summary": "Boko Haram and Islamic State-linked armed activity spans northeastern Nigeria and the Lake Chad region.", "sources": [ { "label": "ACLED · Nigeria", "url": "https://acleddata.com/country/nigeria", "period": "Country analysis page; 2026 coverage" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0 }, { "id": "cameroon", "name": "Cameroon: Anglophone regions", "region": "Africa", "lon": 9.3, "lat": 5.8, "kind": "Internal conflict", "summary": "Separatist violence affects Cameroon’s northwest and southwest, separately from the Lake Chad conflict.", "sources": [ { "label": "ACLED · Cameroon", "url": "https://acleddata.com/country/cameroon", "period": "Country analysis page; 2026 coverage" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0 }, { "id": "coastal-west-africa", "name": "Northern Benin and Togo", "region": "Africa", "lon": 1.5, "lat": 10.8, "kind": "Regional conflict", "summary": "Jihadist armed-group operations extend into the northern border areas of Benin and Togo.", "sources": [ { "label": "ACLED · Togo", "url": "https://acleddata.com/country/togo", "period": "Country analysis page; 2026 coverage" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0 }, { "id": "mozambique", "name": "Mozambique: Cabo Delgado", "region": "Africa", "lon": 40, "lat": -12.3, "kind": "Internal conflict", "summary": "Insurgent activity continues in northern Mozambique, including attacks affecting civilian communities.", "sources": [ { "label": "ACLED · Mozambique Conflict Monitor", "url": "https://acleddata.com/update/mozambique-conflict-monitor-update-october-2026", "period": "6 October 2026; August–September activity" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0 }, { "id": "colombia", "name": "Colombia", "region": "Americas", "lon": -73, "lat": 5, "kind": "Internal conflict", "summary": "Multiple armed groups contest territory despite the 2016 peace agreement, causing displacement and confinement.", "sources": [ { "label": "ACAPS · Colombia", "url": "https://www.acaps.org/en/countries/colombia", "period": "Country analysis page; 2026 reports" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": { "label": "Source-linked environmental brief", "title": "Mining, mercury and conflict-financed landscapes", "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "coverage": "Chocó and Antioquia, including Quito and Atrato river settings; UNEP mission in March 2017. Historical evidence of conflict-linked extraction, not a 2026 national assessment.", "method": "UNEP multidisciplinary mission with field visits, an aerial inspection and stakeholder meetings.", "sources": [ { "label": "UNEP · Environmental recovery and peacebuilding in Colombia", "url": "https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/un-environment-will-support-environmental-recovery-and-peacebuilding", "date": "23 March 2017; mission completed 17 March", "locator": "Mission findings; Quito river basin; extraction and financing" } ], "findings": [ { "topic": "Forests & rivers", "text": "The mission described major destruction in the Quito basin from illegal mining and deforestation.", "basis": "Field and aerial observations.", "limit": "Observations from selected areas cannot establish Colombia-wide damage rates.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "forests", "mining", "habitats" ], "evidence_type": "observed", "questions": [] }, { "topic": "Mercury", "text": "UNEP reported mercury use and environmental releases in mining, with potential pathways through air, water and food.", "basis": "Mission reporting on mining practices and exposure pathways.", "limit": "Potential pathways do not establish measured human doses or contamination in every fish or river.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "mining", "water" ], "evidence_type": "assessed", "questions": [ "water", "food" ] }, { "topic": "Conflict linkage", "text": "UNEP describes armed and criminal groups generating revenue through extraction and trade taxation.", "basis": "Institutional mission assessment.", "limit": "Illegal, informal and conflict-financing activities are not interchangeable; attribution requires site-specific evidence.", "source": 0, "topics": [ "mining" ], "evidence_type": "assessed", "questions": [] } ], "text": "Mining, mercury and conflict-financed landscapes", "url": "https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/un-environment-will-support-environmental-recovery-and-peacebuilding", "source": "UNEP · Environmental recovery and peacebuilding in Colombia", "topics": [ "forests", "habitats", "mining", "water" ], "why_it_matters": { "label": "Rivers, forests & livelihoods", "text": "The UNEP mission connects extraction with river-basin damage, deforestation and mercury releases in selected areas. Recovery needs to consider mining and its financing as well as fighting; potential exposure pathways are not measured human doses.", "sources": [ 0 ] }, "knowledge_gap": { "unknown": "The selected-area mission does not establish mercury exposure doses or contamination in every fish or river, and does not represent the whole country.", "needed": "Site-specific water, sediment and food-web measurements, with clear dates and methods, would help test the reported exposure pathways.", "findings": [ 0, 1 ] }, "dates": { "period": "UNEP mission in March 2017, completed 17 March", "published": "23 March 2017", "kind": "Historical case", "source": 0 } }, "reading_count": 1, "weapons": { "reviewed": "2026-10-25", "period": "2025 · ICRC humanitarian reporting", "status": "Reported use and explosive hazards", "items": [ { "type": "Anti-personnel mines", "context": "The ICRC reports continuing harm from anti-personnel mines.", "source": 0, "period": "2025 · ICRC report published 12 May 2026", "status": "ICRC humanitarian reporting" }, { "type": "Controlled-detonation & launched explosive devices", "context": "Both device categories are described in the ICRC account.", "source": 0, "period": "2025 · ICRC report published 12 May 2026", "status": "ICRC humanitarian reporting" }, { "type": "Weaponized drones", "context": "The ICRC reports commercial drones used to deliver explosive devices.", "source": 0, "period": "2025 · ICRC report published 12 May 2026", "status": "ICRC humanitarian reporting" } ], "sources": [ { "label": "ICRC · Conduct of hostilities and use of explosive hazards", "url": "https://www.icrc.org/en/article/conduct-hostilities-and-use-explosive-hazards", "date": "12 May 2026 · covers 2025" } ], "categories": [ "mines", "ied", "drones" ] }, "weapon_estimates": { "reviewed": "2026-10-27", "scope": "Historical civilian firearm benchmark; no current military or armed-group inventory established here.", "items": [ { "kind": "Historical civilian holdings", "value": "10.1", "unit": "firearms per 100 residents", "scope": "Colombia · civilian-held firearms", "period": "2017", "basis": "Expert estimate; estimated total 4,971,000 civilian firearms.", "limit": "Not the percentage of people who own guns, not a military inventory, and not a current-conflict count.", "url": "https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe-REV1.pdf", "source": "Small Arms Survey · Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017" } ] } }, { "id": "haiti", "name": "Haiti", "region": "Americas", "lon": -72.3, "lat": 18.6, "kind": "Armed violence", "summary": "Armed gangs and security forces are involved in violence affecting Port-au-Prince and other areas.", "sources": [ { "label": "International Rescue Committee · Haiti", "url": "https://www.rescue.org/article/haitis-gang-violence-crisis-what-know-and-how-help", "period": "9 September 2026" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0, "weapon_estimates": { "reviewed": "2026-10-27", "scope": "Historical holdings and a later reported illicit-weapons range; different definitions and dates, not a trend series.", "items": [ { "kind": "Historical civilian holdings", "value": "2.6", "unit": "firearms per 100 residents", "scope": "Haiti · civilian-held firearms", "period": "2017", "basis": "Expert estimate; estimated total 291,000 civilian firearms.", "limit": "Not the percentage of people who own guns, not a military inventory, and not a current-conflict count.", "url": "https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/SAS-BP-Civilian-held-firearms-annexe-REV1.pdf", "source": "Small Arms Survey · Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017" }, { "kind": "Reported illicit-weapons estimate", "value": "270,000–500,000", "unit": "illegal weapons estimated in circulation", "scope": "Haiti · national estimate, not a count assigned exclusively to gangs", "period": "Reported 17 October 2025; underlying estimate date not specified in the article", "basis": "UN News, published by the UN in Haiti, attributes this range to the UN human rights office.", "limit": "A broad estimate, not an audited inventory. Different scope and methods from the 2017 civilian holdings estimate: do not subtract the two to infer growth.", "url": "https://haiti.un.org/en/304494-haiti-under-un-arms-embargo-so-why-are-500000-illegal-weapons-circulation", "source": "United Nations in Haiti / UN News · 17 October 2025" } ] } }, { "id": "philippines", "name": "Philippines: internal conflicts", "region": "Asia & Pacific", "lon": 124.5, "lat": 8, "kind": "Conflict situation", "summary": "Communist insurgency and localized armed violence in the south coexist with ongoing peace processes.", "sources": [ { "label": "ACLED · Philippines", "url": "https://acleddata.com/country/philippines", "period": "Country analysis page; 2026 coverage" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0 }, { "id": "india", "name": "India: internal conflicts", "region": "Asia & Pacific", "lon": 82, "lat": 20, "kind": "Conflict situation", "summary": "This overview groups the Maoist insurgency and other internal conflict settings; they are not one conflict.", "sources": [ { "label": "ACLED · India", "url": "https://acleddata.com/country/india", "period": "Country analysis page; 2026 coverage" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0 }, { "id": "thailand", "name": "Thailand: Deep South", "region": "Asia & Pacific", "lon": 101.3, "lat": 6.3, "kind": "Internal conflict", "summary": "A renewed wave of attacks in the southern provinces has affected people and civilian infrastructure.", "sources": [ { "label": "ACLED · Deep South attacks", "url": "https://acleddata.com/expert-comment/dozens-attacks-hit-thailands-deep-south-what-happens-peace-talks-now", "period": "2026 commentary on 22–23 August attacks" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0 }, { "id": "papua", "name": "Indonesia: Papua", "region": "Asia & Pacific", "lon": 138, "lat": -4, "kind": "Internal conflict", "summary": "Conflict-related violence affects Papua, including civilians caught in confrontations involving armed actors.", "sources": [ { "label": "ACLED · Papua conflict", "url": "https://acleddata.com/expert-comment/why-indonesias-papua-region-becoming-deadlier", "period": "2026 expert commentary" } ], "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "environment": null, "reading_count": 0 } ], "environmental_briefs": { "reviewed": "2026-10-21", "count": 10, "scope": "Selected source briefs, not a systematic literature review or independent field validation.", "topic_note": "Tags describe subjects covered by selected findings; they are not confirmations of measured contamination or absence of impacts elsewhere." }, "weapons_reviewed": "2026-10-25" }