New INEW report presents a global overview of explosive weapons in populated areas

Flames and smoke rise from a residential building following Israeli army strikes on the al-Ruya Tower in Gaza City, Gaza, on 7 September 2025. Source: © Ali Jadallah / Anadolu via Getty Images.

Throughout 2025, civilians in dozens of countries continued to suffer the devastating impacts of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. The Explosive Weapons Monitor 2025, produced by the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW) using data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and Insecurity Insight, provides a global overview of this phenomenon and its humanitarian consequences.

The report documents harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure in at least 65 countries, territories, and maritime locations around the world. Of these, 13 were severely affected across all dimensions monitored by the report, including deaths and challenges in accessing healthcare, education, humanitarian assistance, food, and water. These are: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Myanmar, Palestine, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen. The geographical concentration of suffering reveals persistent patterns of armed conflict that affect entire populations, often for consecutive years, with no immediate prospect of resolution.

Countries, territories and maritime locations in which civilians were affected by the use of explosive weapons in 2025. Source: Explosive Weapons Monitor 2025/INEW

The report also indicates that the findings for 2025 represent the continuation of a trend that has deepened since 2023, when civilian harm reached unprecedented levels in recent history. The current situation reflects the consolidation of patterns of warfare that place civilian populations at the center of hostilities, in clear violation of the fundamental principles of International Humanitarian Law.

The report's most striking finding is the record of more than 22,600 civilian deaths caused by the use of explosive weapons throughout 2025. Although this represents a 21% decrease compared to 2024, when more than 28,600 civilians were killed, this decline should be interpreted with caution. It is largely attributable to the ceasefire agreements reached in Palestine and Lebanon, which temporarily reduced the pace of attacks by the Israeli Armed Forces in those territories. On the other hand, when deaths caused by all other state and non-state actors worldwide are considered separately, the number increased by approximately 7% compared to the previous year.

The Israeli Armed Forces remained responsible for more than 55% of all global civilian deaths attributed to the use of explosive weapons in 2025, amounting to more than 12,500 lives lost. Proportionally, this represents a reduction compared to 71% in 2024 and 76% in 2023, directly reflecting the pauses in fighting. Nevertheless, the concentration of deaths attributed to a single actor in specific contexts, particularly in Palestine, significantly distorts global patterns and highlights the exceptional scale of harm in the region.

Among the other actors responsible for a high number of civilian deaths recorded in 2025, the report identifies the Myanmar Armed Forces, with approximately 2,300 attributed deaths; the Russian Armed Forces, with around 2,200; the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with approximately 600; and the Sudanese Armed Forces, with around 580. Non-state actors were responsible for nearly 3,400 deaths worldwide. These figures alone demonstrate that the problem extends far beyond a single conflict or region and requires a coordinated and consistent international response.

The report also estimates that between 16,000 and 85,900 civilians were injured by explosive weapons in 2025. The wide range reflects the methodological challenges inherent in documenting injuries in conflict zones, where access is restricted, healthcare systems are compromised, and information sources are inconsistent. According to the authors, the upper estimate most closely reflects situations in which both deaths and injuries are systematically recorded.

The number of countries that endorsed the Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, adopted in Dublin in November 2022, whose armed forces caused civilian harm with explosive weapons increased from five in 2024 to eight in 2025, including Cambodia, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, the Republic of Korea, Somalia, Türkiye, and the United States. The number of territories and locations affected by the actions of these armed forces also increased from five to thirteen.

The Political Declaration represents an important normative advancement by recognizing that the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas tends to cause unacceptable humanitarian harm and by requiring States to adopt policies and practices to prevent such harm. However, the increase in the number of signatory States that violated these principles in 2025 indicates that implementation of the Declaration remains insufficient and that accountability and monitoring mechanisms must be urgently strengthened.

The use of explosive weapons against humanitarian operations reached alarming levels in 2025. Insecurity Insight recorded 2,541 incidents in which explosive weapons affected humanitarian operations, aid workers, and humanitarian facilities across 17 countries and territories during the year. This represents a 52% increase compared to 2024, when 1,668 incidents were documented.

The report also documents a significant increase in attacks on educational facilities. A total of 1,416 incidents were recorded in which explosive weapons damaged or destroyed schools and universities or killed teachers and students across 27 countries and territories. This represents a 64% increase compared to 2024, when 865 incidents were documented in 22 countries.

The countries with the highest number of incidents were Ukraine (723), Palestine (262), and Myanmar (260). In Ukraine, the number of incidents more than doubled compared to the previous year, with 92% of cases attributed to the Russian Armed Forces, which targeted schools with drones and other aerial systems, as well as artillery. The use of drones in attacks on schools by Russian forces increased by 358% compared to 2024. In several regions, schools were forced to shift to remote learning, while damage to energy infrastructure prevented even online classes in some localities.

In Latin America, the report documented cases of armed drone use in Haiti, Colombia, and Mexico. In Haiti, Human Rights Watch recorded at least 141 armed drone operations between March 2025 and January 2026, resulting in 1,243 deaths and 738 injuries. This marked the first documented case of the systematic use of explosive drones as a public security tool by state forces, including quadcopter drones. In Cité Soleil, an attack near a sports complex killed at least ten civilians, including nine children between the ages of three and twelve who had gathered to receive humanitarian donations. In Colombia, dissident FARC groups and the ELN used commercially adapted drones in at least 17 documented incidents, including an attack on a Médecins Sans Frontières field hospital in El Plateado, Cauca. In Mexico, five drone-related incidents resulted in three deaths and at least 14 injuries in the states of Michoacán, Veracruz, Jalisco, and Sinaloa.

Written by: Giovanna Rezende

Reviewed by: Fernando Fiala

31/07/2026 BRT

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the institutional position of Dhesarme.

References

EXPLOSIVE WEAPONS MONITOR. Explosive Weapons Monitor 2025. [S. l.]: Explosive Weapons Monitor, 2026. Available at: https://explosiveweaponsmonitor.org/reports/9/explosive-weapons-monitor-2025/. Accessed: July 31, 2026.