Conflicts: attacks on water systems tripled between 2021 and 2025, Unicef warns
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- According to Unicef, reported attacks on water and sanitation in conflict zones tripled from 2021 to 2025.
- The report covers 23 countries and territories, from January 2021 to June 2026.
- Examples: about 830,000 people deprived of water in Burkina Faso; more than 130 km of pipes damaged in Gaza.
- Unicef calls for these installations to be protected and for unhindered humanitarian access.
In this article
What the report says
According to franceinfo (5 November, 7:13), the Unicef report published on Thursday 5 November says that the number of reported attacks that damaged or destroyed water supply and sanitation systems in conflict zones tripled between 2021 and 2025. It covers 23 countries and territories, from January 2021 to June 2026. Unicef finds these attacks more frequent, more varied and geographically wider, and warns that they expose children to epidemics, malnutrition and violence.
Types of attacks and examples
The report lists seven types of attacks, including strikes on treatment plants, pipes and wells, contamination of water sources, and restrictions on access to the spare parts and chemicals needed for water treatment. In Burkina Faso, more than 145 water points were destroyed between 2020 and 2025, depriving about 830,000 people of water, more than half of them children. In Gaza, more than 130,000 metres of wastewater pipes have been damaged since October 2023. In eastern Chad, in camps hosting Sudanese refugees, the WHO linked a hepatitis E outbreak to the lack of safe water and sanitation: half of the 2,092 suspected cases recorded from January to April 2024 were children aged 6 to 17. The report also documents, in Gaza, children killed or injured while queuing for water.
Unicef’s appeal and unverified points
Unicef Executive Director Catherine Russell says aid workers are doing everything to keep water flowing, but repairs cannot replace the protection of these facilities required by international humanitarian law. Unicef calls on the parties to conflicts, member states, donors and humanitarian and development actors to treat water, sanitation and hygiene systems as essential to the survival of civilians, especially children, and demands safe, rapid and unimpeded access for aid workers and essential supplies. In the source used, we could not verify the breakdown of attacks by perpetrator or the full list of the 23 countries and territories.
Learn the grammar
French grammar
Learn sentence patterns and usage from the article’s own sentences.
01Negation and its scope
ne / n’ … pas · ne … plus
La directrice générale de l’Unicef, Catherine Russell, déclare que les humanitaires font tout pour que l’eau continue de couler, mais que les réparations ne remplacent pas la protection de ces installations exigée par le droit international humanitaire.Key pointsNormally ne and pas wrap the verb. Before a vowel, ne becomes n’. Check which part of the sentence the negation covers. Ne … plus means “no longer”.
02Citing a source with selon
selon + noun / organisation
L’Unicef a publié le 5 novembre un rapport selon lequel les attaques contre les systèmes d’eau et d’assainissement en zones de conflit ont triplé.Key pointsSelon means “according to”. Put a person or organisation after it as the source. It separates facts the writer checked directly from what another body or report said. Citing a source does not turn a forecast into an accomplished fact.
03The passé composé for events
present of avoir + past participle
L’Unicef a publié le 5 novembre un rapport selon lequel les attaques contre les systèmes d’eau et d’assainissement en zones de conflit ont triplé.Key pointsIt reports past events, as in “announced” or “explained”. A / ont is the auxiliary avoir and the next word is the past participle. The passé composé alone does not tell you the date of the event.
04The present of être
est / sont + complement
Dans l’est du Tchad, dans des camps accueillant des réfugiés soudanais, l’OMS a relié une épidémie d’hépatite E au manque d’eau potable et d’assainissement : la moitié des 2 092 cas suspects enregistrés de janvier à avril 2024 concernaient des enfants de 6 à 17 ans.Key pointsEst is third-person singular and sont third-person plural of être. They express “is / are” — a state or description. If a past participle follows, it is a different structure such as the passive, so check the words that follow.
05Delimiting an interval
de … à … / du … au …
Dans l’est du Tchad, dans des camps accueillant des réfugiés soudanais, l’OMS a relié une épidémie d’hépatite E au manque d’eau potable et d’assainissement : la moitié des 2 092 cas suspects enregistrés de janvier à avril 2024 concernaient des enfants de 6 à 17 ans.Key pointsDe…à… shows the start and end, “from … to …”, and is also used for changes in figures. With dates, de + le becomes du and à + le becomes au, giving forms like du 13 au 15. Check whether the interval concerns dates, times or amounts.
06Dates and their prepositions
le + 日付 / du … au …
L’Unicef a publié le 5 novembre un rapport selon lequel les attaques contre les systèmes d’eau et d’assainissement en zones de conflit ont triplé.Key pointsLe 15 octobre means “on 15 October”. Distinguish the le before a date from the le that marks a weekly habit like a weekday. Du is de + le and au is à + le, so decide the meaning from the verb and period expressions around them. Their role depends on the group: a range of dates, the date of a bulletin or another complement.
Japanese grammar
Understand the structure and usage from the text.
01Citing a source: によると
noun + によると
franceinfo（5日7時13分）によると、ユニセフの報告（5日・木曜日）は、紛争地で水の供給や衛生の設備を傷つけ、壊した攻撃が報告された件数が、2021年から2025年の間に3倍になったと述べています。Key pointsAs in “LCPによると”, it shows where the information comes from. What that source reported follows. It is used differently from “私にとって”, which gives one’s own opinion.
02Giving examples with など
noun / expression + など
処理施設、パイプ、井戸への攻撃、水源の汚染、水を処理するのに必要な部品や薬品の入手の制限などです。Key points“暴言など” gives “abusive language” as one example. It is not necessarily a closed list of only the things named. It also helps when reading the scope of a news story.
03The polite past ました
verb stem (連用形) + ました
ユニセフは5日、紛争地で水道や衛生の設備を壊す攻撃が3倍になったと報告しました。Key pointsIn “発表しました”, ました makes a verb polite past. The negative is “ませんでした”. Read the actual date together with the date and time in the text.
04Quoting with と: content and report
plain-form sentence + と + verbe de parole (報じる, 説明する…)
ユニセフのキャサリン・ラッセル事務局長は、支援団体は水が流れ続けるようあらゆることをしているが、修理は、国際人道法が求める設備の保護の代わりにはならない、と述べました。Key pointsと takes the content that is reported or explained. In “改定する方針だと報じました”, “改定する方針だ” is what the report said. Separating the content from who said it and how makes long sentences easier to read.
05Treating a clause like a noun with こと
plain-form sentence + こと + particle
ユニセフのキャサリン・ラッセル事務局長は、支援団体は水が流れ続けるようあらゆることをしているが、修理は、国際人道法が求める設備の保護の代わりにはならない、と述べました。Key points“〜すること” treats an action or content like a noun. The particle after it (が・を・は…) shows its role in the sentence. “ことができる” is a fixed combination meaning “can”.
06Possibility in Japanese: できる・られる
verb potential form / 〜ことができる
この記事の範囲では、攻撃をした側の内訳や、23の国と地域の全一覧は確認できませんでした。Key pointsできる is the basic verb for ability. The potential form of 受ける is 受けられる. The same られる can also be passive or honorific, so decide from the meaning of the sentence.