Crossword Genius

Knowing there's a conflict over the East (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aware

'knowing' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'a conflict over the east' is the wordplay.
'conflict' becomes 'war' (war is a kind of conflict).
'over' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (in a down clue, some letters go over others).
'the east' becomes 'E' (abbreviation).
'a'+'war'+'e'='AWARE'

'there's' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for aware that I've seen before include "Having knowledge (of fact)" , "Acquainted with or mindful of" , "Informed; conscious" , "Conscious or having knowledge of" , "Knowing (of something)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail and The Irish News.
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