Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

LC128a

Incident date

April 27, 2019

Location

النعاعجة, Al Na'aija, Marqab, Libya

Geolocation

32.366389, 13.686389 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Two civilian women were reportedly injured in a GNA airstrike on Tarhuna.

An Amnesty International investigation found: “On 27 April 2019, a GNA aircraft dropped a bomb on Tarhouna, in the courtyard of the al-Hbashi family, injuring two women and damaging the house. Umm Seif told Amnesty International:

‘I was at home alone with my daughters and my 13-year-old son. My husband had gone to Malaysia to bring home our oldest son who had been studying there for the past five years. My youngest boy had just left to go for private lessons when the bomb struck at the exact place where he had been playing just half an hour earlier. The whole house shook and fragments flew right through the inner rooms. My daughter Amani was injured in the face, throat and legs, and my other daughter fainted from the shock.’

In the adjacent house, 40-year-old Aaafia Salah showed Amnesty International the injuries she had sustained to the chest and limbs. She too was inside her home when the strike happened and was injured by fragments of masonry from the wall destroyed by the strike. Fragments recovered at the scene by Amnesty International investigators confirm the bomb was a FAB-500ShL, a 500kg unguided bomb called a “parachute bomb” by local residents because of the large white parachute that deploys out the back to slow and align the ordnance’s decent. This is a large explosive weapon, with a blast radius of over 800m, and therefore not an appropriate weapon to use in populated urban areas.”

Ali Alkasir reported: “Civilian houses in Tarhuna city were shelled by warplanes that left the Misrata Air Force College, wounding civilians and destroying their livelihoods.”

Other sources published similar accounts.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Aaafia Salah
40 years old female injured
Amani al-Hbashi
Age unknown female injured

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the neighbourhood of  Al Na’aija (النعاعجة), for which the generic coordinates are: 32.366389, 13.686389. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Government of National Accord

Sources (5) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Pictures of the aftermath

Government of National Accord Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Government of National Accord
  • Government of National Accord position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Government of National Accord

Sources (5) [ collapse]