Reports

Reports

Airwars monthly assessment – January 2020

Published

March 2020

Written by

Alex Hopkins

Assisted by

Anna Zahn, Eleftheria Kousta, Hermes, Laurie Treffers, Maysa Ismael, Mohammed al Jumaily, Oliver Imhof, Shihab Halep and Vasiliki Touhouliotis

Major conflict monitoring

Russia and the Assad regime in Syria: civilians in Aleppo governorate pounded

During January, Russia continued to bombard Idlib in support of the Assad government’s ongoing offensive. From the third week of the month, Russia’s air campaign also focused significantly on rebel-held areas of western Aleppo – resulting in further civilian harm.

In total, Airwars tracked 100 civilian harm events locally reported during January to have been carried out by Moscow alone or in partnership with the Assad regime -54 of which were in Idlib and 46 events in Aleppo.

This represented a 15% rise on the 87 events tracked in December 2019. In total, across these 100 January events, between 145 and 213 civilians were locally alleged killed  – compared to between 132 and 170 such deaths during the previous month. Of these January numbers, as many as 77 were children and 31 women. Up to 548 further non-combatants were reportedly wounded during the month by Russian actions.

The tempo of strikes and civilian harm rose as the month wore on, as Syrian regime forces continued to advance in southern Idlib. Civilian harm events reported in Aleppo governorate spiked between January 16th and 24th . In the two days of January 20th to 21st alone, Airwars researchers monitored 20 incidents in Aleppo (20% of the entire month’s events). Of the 145 minimum claimed deaths during January, some 41% were in the province of Aleppo.

Once more, we saw reports of entire families killed. On January 21st, nine civilians including a family of six reportedly died in Russian or regime airstrikes on Kafr Ta’al village in the Western Aleppo countryside. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the airstrikes targeted a farm near the village. Shahba Press said that six children and their parents were among those killed. One victim was identified as 22-year-old Mustafa Jdou’e.

On the same day, January 21st, ten civilians including up to six children died and as many as 42 more non-combatants were wounded in alleged Russian airstrikes on the town of Kafr Nuran. The Local Coordination Committees of Syria reported that the bombing occurred around 4:35 PM local time. They published the names of nine dead civilians, including at least two children. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that “residential buildings and gatherings of displaced people” were deliberately bombed. Among the victims were eight members of the Al-Hassan family; and three members of the Al-Qusair family.

A man crying on site after alleged Russian airstrikes in the town of Kafr Nuran, Aleppo governorate, on January 21st 2020 (via Macro Media Center)

As with previous months, January also saw major civilian harm incidents in Idlib. In the worse incident, between 10 and 19 civilians including at least four children and two women were reportedly killed and more than 20 non-combatants injured after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on the town of Kafr Lata on January 29th. According to the Smart News Agency, “Russian warplanes launched a four-missile attack on civilian homes, a mosque and a road for the displaced in the village”.

Destroyed vehicle after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on the town of Kafr Lata on January 29th 2020 (via Syrian Civil Defence Aleppo)

Turkey in Syria

In January, Airwars continued to monitor sporadic allegations of civilian harm from Turkish actions in Syria. Our current assessment is that one civilian likely died and two or three more were wounded across three events. This is a sharp fall from the 12 likely deaths tracked during December 2019.

On January 1st, one civilian, named as Ammar Alhaji, was reportedly shot dead by members of the al Majd Brigade of the Syrian National Army in Tal Abyad, Raqqa governorate. Euphrates Post said the victim was a taxi diver. According to Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, “the man was shot dead while he was trying to prevent fighters of Turkish-backed Al-Majd Legion from stealing his car.” Civilians took to the streets to protest in response to the alleged killing.

Protests in Tal Abyad following the death of Ammar Al-Haji, January 1st 2020 (via RBSS)

Up to three more civilians were likely wounded in two further events in Syria. On January 9th, one or two non-combatants were harmed when Turkish drones allegedly targeted an SDF Asayish (Kurdish Public Security Forces) checkpoint at the entrance of Ain Issa town, in Raqqa governorate.

Two days later, on January 11th, a woman, named as Zainab Mahmoud Hamada, was reportedly injured in Turkish artillery strikes on the village of Bashranda, Aleppo governorate, according to sources on the ground.

The woman Zainab Mahmoud Hamada back in her home after receiving medical help after being injured in a Turkish attack on the village of Bashranda, Aleppo governorate, on January 11th, 2020 (via Hawar News).

Kurdish counterfire in Syria

Likely deaths from Kurdish counterfire in Syria outweighed deaths from Turkish actions during January. Our researchers tracked two civilian harm events assessed as likely carried out by YPG forces, killing between three and five civilians and injuring 18 more.

Between two and four civilians including at least one child and one woman were killed and up to five more wounded in alleged YPG artillery strikes on the city of Afrin, Aleppo governorate on January 20th, local media reported. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the child Muhammad Mar’i and Mrs. Turfah Meqdeh died. Additionally, @abowaelo tweeted a photo of a baby in the hospital, stating that the mother of the child was killed during the shelling earlier that day and that doctors managed to save the child by a cesarean operation on the deceased mother.

Syrian Civil Defence volunteers carrying a wounded or killed person after alleged YPG artillery strikes on Afrin, Aleppo governorate, on January 20th 2020 (via Syrian Network for Human Rights).

On January 29th, again in Afrin, local sources reported that one child died ad 13 more civilians, all adult males, were injured in alleged YPG artillery strikes on residential areas of the city. The White Helmets named the boy as 13-year-old Ahmed Tammam Qatayerji. 

The US-led Coalition in Iraq and Syria

In January, for the first time since anti-ISIS operations began in August 2014, there were no civilian harm events attributed to the US-led Coalition against so-called Islamic State.

The Coalition said it had conducted just one strike in Iraq and seven strikes in Syria during January. The Iraq strike consisted of “one illumination mission for force protection”. The highly controversial unilateral US strike that killed Iran’s most powerful military commander, Gen Qasem Soleimani at Baghdad International Airport on January 3rd, was not counted in the monthly tally.

According to AFCENT, just 68 munitions were fire from the air over Iraq and Syria during January – a 57% fall on December 2019, and the lowest number of munitions fired in any one month since the start of Coalition actions against ISIS in August 2014.

Airwars continued to track reports of alleged US unilateral strikes in Syria during January; there were three reported unilateral strikes on Iran-backed groups, but no associated claims of civilian harm.

Official data from US Air Force Central Command showed the lowest munitions fired of the entire war, during January 2020.

Libya

The number of reported civilian casualties and airstrikes in Libya slightly fell in January from the previous month. While in December Airwars recorded 189 strikes and between 25 and 29 civilian deaths, January saw 117 strikes, and 16 reported civilian fatalities.

Those decreases can be explained by a very shaky truce between the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA) which started on January 12th. In the first days after the agreement, both parties mostly abided by the agreement. But on January 16th repeated violations by both parties began, with 39 air and artillery strikes reported until the end of the month. It is worth pointing out that the majority of these strikes were conducted by artillery, unlike during previous months where airpower had dominated.

During the truce, international backers reportedly violated the arms embargo on several occasions – despite promising to stop at the Berlin peace conference on January 18th. Turkey apparently equipped the GNA with better air defences, rendering it difficult for the LNA to strike by plane or drone around Tripoli.

Bcos of #Turkey, it is no longer easy for the #LNA coalition to utilize airstrikes. LNA tried on Jan 28—& the drone was downed.

W/in this new context, #GNA coalition today launched a land offensive into #LNA’s Qasr bin Ghashir presence.

How will the #LNA manage to thwart these?

— Jalel Harchaoui (@JMJalel_H) February 9, 2020

Overall, local sources reported 60 air and artillery strikes by the LNA or its ally the United Arab Emirates throughout January, reportedly killing 13 civilians. The GNA and Turkey allegedly conducted 15 strikes between them, reportedly resulting in one civilian death.

As many of the strikes reported in January were indiscriminate artillery shelling, attribution of responsibility was difficult. For 36 strikes during the month, no belligerent could be determined. Another four strikes were contested between the GNA and LNA; these reportedly killed three civilians.

Abdelhak Al-Maghrabi, allegedly killed by LNA shelling on Tripoli on January 25th, 2020 (via Hona Souq Al-Khmies)

US counter terrorism campaigns

Somalia

On February 25th, Airwars launched a major new online resource on Somalia providing the most comprehensive look yet at US counter terrorism actions in eastern Africa, and associated civilian harm claims.

Meanwhile AFRICOM informed Airwars that it had conducted six airstrikes in Somalia during January – all against al-Shabaab. It stated that no civilians were harmed in these strikes. However local communities reported differently.

In its first declared action in Somalia of 2020, AFRICOM said that a strike on January 3rd killed al-Shabaab terrorists near Bacaw.

A January 16th strike near Qunyo Barrow killed two terrorists, while three more al-Shabaab fighters died in a January 19th strike near Bangeeni, Lower Juba.

During several days of fighting in Middle Juba, US forces conducted an airstrike on January 26th which targeted and reportedly destroyed an al-Shabaab compound in the vicinity of Jamaame.

Additionally, on January 27th, US Africa Command declared on the same day that it had conducted an airstrike on al Shabaab in the vicinity of Jilib, which it said had killed one militant. However, it was later reported that a 20-year old farmer named Mohamed Moalim was killed in the strike, with the location given as Hoombooy.

Relatives of the victim told Somali Memo that he was killed a “drone strike while planting a sesame field.” They added that he was “killed near some trees” and that only a “few parts of his body” were found.

#US military accused of killing a 20-yr-old farmer identified as Sidi Moalin following a #drone strike inside a farm near #Jilib town in #Somalia's Middle Juba region.#AFRICOM confirms conducting the strike, claims it killed an #AlShabaab fighter. pic.twitter.com/1XWlDhBiBt

— Morad News (@MoradNews) January 29, 2020

The last strike of the month was on January 29th, on an al Shabaab compound in Jilib. One al-Shabaab terrorist was killed, according to AFRICOM.

In the early morning of 29 January, The Federal Government of Somalia in coordination with and supported by the US Government, conducted an airstrike inside the al-Shabaab-controlled city of Jilib.

One al-Shabaab occupied compound was destroyed in the strike. pic.twitter.com/2kQMQdFqDZ

— Ismael Mukhtaar Omar (@imukhtaar) January 29, 2020

In addition, the US was implicated in several other events during January – though none had associated civilian harm claims. On January 7th, US troops were said to have participated in a ground operation together with Somali forces in Lafta Anole. This reportedly led to 35 dead Al Shabaab fighters. Xinhua also reported an airstrike without specifying who conducted it.

Between one and three Al Shabaab militants were allegedly killed on January 16th in  Wanlaweyn, when government forces raided a house. It was unclear whether US forces took part in the attack.

And on January 22nd US airstrikes allegedly supported Somali forces near Hargessa Yarey in Middle Juba, killing several Al Shabaab members. On the same day US strikes allegedly targeted Saakow, reportedly killing several Al Shabab militants. However, in an email exchange with Airwars on February 4th 2020, an official stated said that AFRICOM did not conduct “any kinetic operations” on January 22nd.

Yemen

CENTCOM told Airwars that there were no US military strikes during January 2020 in Yemen. The last declared CENTCOM action was on June 24th 2019 in Al Bayda province.

It is not known how many actions the CIA conducted in Yemen during the month, if any.

Pakistan

There were no publicly alleged CIA strikes in Pakistan against either Al Qaeda or the Taliban during January. The last such alleged strike was in August 2018.

Advocacy

European advocacy

After several wonderful years of Airwars’ Netherlands-based advocacy officer being embedded in the offices of PAX For Peace, our Dutch advocacy officer moved into the office of the Utrecht Centre of Global Challenges at Utrecht University at the beginning of January.

Our new partnership is similar to Airwars’ ongoing collaboration with Goldsmiths, University of London in the UK. We look forward to exchanging knowledge and experience with the Centre, which accommodates for example the Intimacies of Remote Warfare project. PAX will remain a crucial partner of Airwars in the Netherlands, and we look forward to future collaboration with their exceptional Protection of Civilians team in particular.

On January 28th, Airwars UK, Airwars Stichting, and our Dutch partners met with the Netherlands Ministry of Defence in The Hague, at the invitation of the Ministry. In the wake of the Hawijah scandal, the Ministry of Defence has shown some willingness to critically revise its transparency policies. We are hoping to launch a similar process in the Netherlands to Airwars’ engagement with the Pentagon’s current civilian harm reduction review. We therefore aim to share our knowledge, to help militaries improve their civilian harm monitoring and hopefully, in turn, reduce casualties on the battlefield.

UK advocacy

During January, Airwars took on a key role within SPA-N (the Security Policy Alternative Network). This important resource includes civil society organisations, activists, foundations, researchers and other experts working together to challenge securitised responses to crises and threats, and promotes alternative security policies and approaches that promote peace, human rights and development.

The group brings expertise from among others, the Open Society Foundation, the Quaker Council for European Affairs, the Conflict Analysis Research Centre, OSIWA, BUCOFORE, and the Oxford Research Group, in addition to Saferworld which began the initiative.

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▲ The aftermath of an alleged Russian airstrike on Kafarjoum, Aleppo, Jan 20th (via White Helmets)

Airwars annual report: over 2,200 civilians claimed killed in 2019

Published

February 11, 2020

Written by

Alex Hopkins

Assisted by

Dmytro Chupryna, Laurie Treffers, Maysa Ismael, Mohammed al Jumaily and Oliver Imhof

During 2019 - for the first time in five years - monitors tracked a sharp move away from US-led Coalition civilian deaths.

Airwars research shows that at least 2,214 civilians were locally alleged killed by international military actions across Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Somalia during 2019 – a 42% decrease in minimum claimed deaths on the previous year. This sharp fall was largely because deaths from reported US-led Coalition actions plummeted following the territorial defeat of ISIS in Syria in March.

However, elsewhere civilians remained in significant danger. Russian strikes in support of the Assad regime claimed at least 1,000 lives in the fierce Idlib and Hama offensives. Meanwhile, Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria in October saw over 300 non-combatants alleged killed.

The year also saw alarming developments in Libya. From April, the Libyan National Army’s Tripoli offensive had a devastating impact on civilians. As more foreign powers joined the conflict, alleged deaths rose by an astonishing 720% on 2018. Almost half of all civilian deaths in Libya’s civil war since 2012 occurred last year.

Download our full annual report for 2019

The US-led Coalition in Syria: a brutal final assault

On March 23rd, after 55 months of war, ISIS was finally ousted from Syria, when the Syrian Democratic Forces seized the town of al-Baghuz al Fawqani in Ezzor governorate. This followed the terror group’s earlier defeat in Iraq in December 2017.

Yet this final assault came at a terrible cost for civilians trapped on the ground. Of the minimum of 2,214 civilians locally alleged killed during 2019, at least 470 deaths (21%) reportedly occurred as a result of US-led Coalition strikes in the first quarter of 2019, in Deir Ezzor governorate.

The aftermath of alleged Coalition shelling of Al Baghouz camp, March 18th – 19th 2019, which allegedly killed at least 160 civilians (via Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently)

After March 23rd, with ISIS downgraded to an insurgency, there was a significant winding down in Coalition strikes. As a result, locally alleged civilian deaths from alliance actions rapidly declined.

For the first time in five years, the Coalition was no longer the primary driver of civilian harm in Airwars monitoring. Indeed, our tracking shows that many more civilians were claimed killed by almost every other monitored belligerent than by the US-led alliance between April and December 2019.

With this shift away from Coalition civilian deaths, Airwars’ focus with the alliance and with partner militaries began moving towards post-conflict restitution and reconciliation engagements.

Syria’s civilians remain at great risk

Civilians may finally have gained respite from Coalition strikes, but 2019 saw them face increased danger on other fronts. Russia’s ongoing campaign in Syria continued to devastate civilian populations and infrastructure.

In total, our researchers tracked at least 1,000 civilian deaths in 710 casualty incidents reportedly carried out by Russia. Some 81% of these events were in Idlib governorate, where Russia lent its formidable airpower to the regime’s offensive to oust the rebels.

The aftermath of an alleged Russian airstrike on a popular market in Saraqib on July 30th (via Edlib Media Center).

Additionally, in October, Syria’s civilians faced a new threat from Turkey. The offensive came against a backdrop of repeated Turkish threats to unilaterally invade northern Syria. The chaotic withdrawal of US forces on October 7th gave Turkey a green light to launch its ‘Operation Peace Spring’.

Airwars research shows that there were between 246 and 314 locally alleged civilian deaths in 207 casualty incidents involving both sides during the final three months of 2019. Most disturbingly, there were numerous claims of war crimes by both sides, including summary executions of civilians and enemy fighters.

Libya: a 720% rise in civilian deaths

Meanwhile, civilian harm spiralled in Libya. Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) launched its offensive on Tripoli in April. However, what was intended to be a brief conflict soon turned into a protracted siege, with foreign powers playing an increased role, particularly in a proxy drone war between the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

The impact on civilians was dire. Between April 4th and December 31st 2019, local sources reported between 279 and 399 civilian deaths. A measure of the intensity of 2019’s bombing is shown by the fact that more than 48% of all locally reported civilian fatalities in Libya’s civil war since 2012 occurred during the nine months between April and December 2019.

Image caption translation: “Warlord Haftar’s warplane bombs oil facility and tannery in Tajoura, east Tripoli”, June 19th 2019 (via Libya Observer)

Somalia: Record number of declared US actions

In April, Airwars expanded its conflict portfolio when it took over the Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s long running monitoring of US counter terrorism drone strikes and civilian harm claims in Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan. We are currently reviewing this significant dataset using Airwars’ own internationally-respected methodology.

Our assessment of US air and ground operations in Somalia since 2007 is now complete – with our annual report revealing that a maximum of 44 civilian deaths were alleged during 2019, in thirteen locally claimed civilian harm events. Overall the US declared 63 airstrikes against both al Shabaab and ISIS for the year – the highest ever tally.

Advocating on behalf of affected non-combatants

Our emphasis at Airwars has always been working on behalf of affected civilians. Throughout 2019, our advocacy teams continued to engage with the US-led Coalition and its allies. More than half of all Coalition-conceded conceded civilian harm events during the year were Airwars referrals for example – with at least 220 additional deaths conceded.

Substantial talks on transparency and accountability for civilian harm were also held with senior Pentagon officials; with the British and Dutch ministries of defence; and with NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.

In November, the Netherlands finally admitted responsibility for a June 2015 strike in Hawijah, Iraq, which killed at least 70 civilians, according to locals. Airwars is now partnering with a number of Dutch NGOs and academics, with a focus on securing long term improvements in transparency and accountability for civilian harm by the Netherlands military.

“Since Airwars began in 2014, our exceptional team has tracked more than 50,000 locally reported civilian deaths across several conflict nations,” notes Airwars director Chris Woods. “As our 2019 report demonstrates, civilian harm remains a constant in war. Yet too often, belligerents deny or downplay civilian harm – even when local communities themselves are making clear the true costs of conflict.”

Download our full annual report for 2019

Scene of a devastating Coalition strike at Hawijah, Iraq which killed up to 70 civilians (via Iraqi Spring)

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▲ The aftermath of an alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrike on Saraqib, Idlib, June 22nd 2019 (via White Helmets)

Published

February 2020

Written by

Alex Hopkins

Assisted by

Abbie Cheeseman, Abdulwahab Tahhan, Alexa O'Brien, Beth Heron, Chloe Skinner, Chris Woods, Dmytro Chupryna, Hanna Rullmann, Laura Bruun, Laurie Treffers, Maike Awater, Maysa Ismael, Mohammed al Jumaily, Oliver Imhof, Osama Mansour, Poppy Bowers, Salim Habib, Shihab Halep and Sophie Dyer

Annual report for 2019

Airwars research showed that at least 2,214 civilians were locally alleged killed by international military actions across Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Somalia during 2019 – a 42% decrease in minimum claimed deaths on the previous year. This sharp fall was largely because deaths from reported US-led Coalition actions plummeted following the territorial defeat of ISIS in Syria in March.

However, elsewhere civilians remained in significant danger. Russian strikes in support of the Assad regime claimed at least 1,000 lives in the fierce Idlib and Hama offensives. Meanwhile, Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria in October saw over 300 non-combatants alleged killed.

The year also saw alarming developments in Libya. From April, the Libyan National Army’s Tripoli offensive had a devastating impact on civilians. As more foreign powers joined the conflict, alleged deaths rose by an astonishing 720% on 2018. Almost half of all civilian deaths in Libya’s civil war since 2012 occurred last year.  2019 Annual Report.

Airwars monthly assessment – November 2019

Published

December 2019

Written by

Alex Hopkins

Major conflict monitoring

Russia and the Assad regime in Syria: civilian harm events quadruple

November saw an alarming escalation in reported harm from Russia’s ongoing Idlib campaign, which once more left noncombatants trapped on the ground and in great peril. Overall, Airwars researchers tracked 77 locally claimed civilian harm events allegedly carried out by Moscow and/or the Assad regime in November – all but four of which were in Idlib. This was more than four times the 18 incidents tracked during October – and represented the greatest number of claimed Russian events in any one month since August 2019.

In total, across these 77 November events, between 108 and 124 civilians were locally alleged killed – compared to between 23 and 31 such deaths during the previous month. More alarmingly, of these November tolls as many as 35 children and 23 women were claimed killed – with as many as 298 civilians additionally wounded.

Once again, we saw frequent reports of entire families being killed in strikes on residential areas. On November 2nd, four members of one family including a woman and two children died and dozens more were wounded in alleged Russian airstrikes on the al Shamali neighborhood of Jabala village, in southern Idlib governorate, according to local sources. The fatalities were named as Faisal Al – Abdullah, Ahmad Mohammad Al-Abdullah, Hussein Al-Abdallah, and the wife of Ahmad Al-Abdallahadultfe.

The aftermath of an alleged Russian airstrike on Jabala town, November 2nd 2019 (via White Helmets)

On November 17th, six members of another family were reported killed in an alleged Russian airstrike on Al Mallaja village, Kafar Nubul, in Idlib governorate. ShahbaPress said that two children were among those killed, adding that 14 other civilians were wounded, though the Smart News Agency put the injured at three people. The fatalities were named as Ahmed Kamel Al Maqsous, Ahmed Kamel Al Maqsous (female), son of Ahmed and Amani Al Maqsous, Salma Kamal Al Maqsous (female), Nujoud Kamal Al Maqsous (female), and Amina Kamel Al Maqsous, also female.

SCD volunteers removing bodies of killed and injured civilians from rubble in the aftermath of an alleged Russian airstrike on Mallaja in Idlib on November 17th 2019 (via MMC).

However, the worst incident of the month followed on November 20th, when seven members of three families, including four children, reportedly died and 11 more civilians were wounded in alleged Russian airstrikes on Maarat al-Numan in Idlib. Citing the director of the civil defence in the town, Shaam News said there had been three Russian raids. According to Syria Live ua map, “a whole family – four children, a woman and a man displaced from Kafrnabouda town – were killed”. Seven victims from the Basas, Qtiesh, and Al Hammoud families were named as killed – four of whom were children. Sources published graphic images of the victims.

6 شهداء من المدنيين وعدد من الإصابات نتيجة استهداف الطيران الحربي الروسي مدينة معرة النعمان بريف ادلب الجنوبي بغارات جوية. pic.twitter.com/rYts1buv9n

— IDLIB PLUS (@IdlibPlus) November 20, 2019

Warning – contains graphic images: The aftermath of alleged Russian airstrikes on Maarat al-Numan, Nov 20th.

Turkey in Syria

Despite a declaration of a ceasefire against Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces on October 23rd, strikes by both Turkish and Kurdish forces continued in November, though at a significantly lower rate.

Violations of the ceasefire – including executions of prisoners –  continued on both sides throughout the month, indicating a certain brutality to this campaign which we didn’t observe to this extent during the previous Afrin conflict in early 2018. On November 27th for example, Human Rights Watch claimed that the ‘safe zone’ established by Turkey to protect civilians was instead the scene of possible war crimes, including executions.

In total during November, Airwars researchers tracked 25 alleged civilian harm events reportedly involving Turkey in Syria. This represented an 80% fall on November’s 124 events. Airwars is still assessing these 25 incidents, though our provisional assessment indicates that 14 civilians likely died across six events graded as ‘Fair’ – compared to the minimum of 125 civilians who died in such incidents in October. Up to a further 39 non-combatants were likely wounded.

On November 9th for example, local media reported the death of two civilians and the injuring of five more in an alleged Turkish drone strike on non-combatants who were collecting cotton in Hishe/Kisha village, Ain Aissa, in Raqqa. Hanî Ehmed Al-Rawî (25) was reported among the killed in the attack and Elî Hemîd al-Khilal (45), Tariq al-Ehmed (30), Mihemed al-Ehmed (29) and Hemûd al-Ehmed (20) were among the injured.

The worst event of the month occurred on November 23rd in the village of Mala, Ain Aissa, Raqqa. Five civilians were reported killed and between three and 22 others including a child injured in alleged Turkish forces mortar, gun fire and drone strikes on the village. ANF added that three civilians were injured when a Free Burma Rangers health team has been attacked by Turkey.

#Breaking Ein Issa: Scenes of ambulance operations carried out by Free Burma's Rangers in Ein Issa city, as a result of Turkish forces and their affiliated opposition attack on the region#syria #SDF #US #Turkey pic.twitter.com/PYGvhAcSaM

— NORTH PRESS AGENCY – ENGLISH (@NPA_English) November 23, 2019

Airwars also tracked eight casualty incidents allegedly blamed on Kurdish counter fire during November. This was a sharp fall of 81% from the 42 claimed incidents in October. Our current estimate is that four or five civilians – of whom at least three were children – likely died in these events. As many as 41 more civilians were likely wounded.

On November 19th for example, three children died and ten other civilians were wounded in alleged YPG artillery fire on a school building being used as a shelter for IDPs in Jern Al Haj Salih in Tal Abyad, Raqqa governorate, local sources said.

Barış Pınarı Harekât bölgesine yönelik taciz/saldırılarına devam eden ve bombalı terör saldırıları düzenleyen terör örgütü PKK/YPG, bu kez de Tel Abyad’ın Curn köyüne attığı havanlarla okulu vurdu. 3 masum sivil yaşamını yitirirken, çocuklarla birlikte 8 sivil de yaralandı. pic.twitter.com/ifxV4LJiTR

— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) November 19, 2019

Above: three children were reportedly killed in alleged Turkish fire in Tal Abyad, Raqqa, on November 19th.

The US-led Coalition in Iraq and Syria

Between one and three civilians were likely killed and up to six more wounded in one casualty incident assessed as fair by Airwars during November.

On November 22nd, Khalid Al Hamoud Al Hammadi was reported killed and his wife and five children wounded in an alleged Coalition airstrike on his house in the Latwa neighbourhood of Dhiban town, Deir Ezzor.

Local sources said that the Coalition carried out a raid with the SDF on suspected members of ISIS. According to Xeber 24, the operation “involved three US Apache helicopters, fighter planes and two reconnaissance planes, during which clashes took place between gunmen in the Al-Lattwa neighbourhood  and SDF fighters”.

All sources claimed that Khalid Al Hamoud Al Hammadi  was a civilian, though Jesr Press said that he also threw a bomb (grenade?) at members of the SDF ‘to defend himself.’ A strike was then reportedly called in on his home. The Euphrates Post said that two members of the SDF also died and five were wounded.

Poignantly, Jesr Press added that Khalid Al Hamoud Al Hammadi had been married just the previous day, stressing that he had no links with any armed groups.

The Coalition later issued a statement saying that it had conducted a “clearance mission in Deir ez-Zor province, Syria Nov. 22”. It added that the operation had “resulted in multiple ISIS fighters killed and wounded” and the capture of more than a dozen – though made no mention of civilian harm concerns.

Khaled Al Hamoud al-Hammadi Husse (via Jesr Press)

At time of publication of this report, the Coalition had not yet published strike data for November, though informed Airwars on December 16th that it would be published soon.

In total, throughout November, Airwars researchers independently tracked 11 reported airstrikes in Syria that were locally blamed on the Coalition. Of these 11 actions, seven reportedly targeting Iranian-backed groups. Airwars has asked CENTCOM whether the US is once again conducting unilateral strikes in Syria, but we had not yet received a response as we went to press. It is also possible that some or all of these unclaimed incidents were in fact Israeli actions.

Civilian harm was only reported in one of these 11 Syria events. On November 8th, a single source, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that three tents were reportedly bombed in alleged Coalition airstrikes in Khabira area in the northeastern countryside of Deir Ezzor. It is unclear how many people died in this event.

According to AFCENT, 153 munitions were dropped on Iraq and Syria from the air in November by the US-led Coalition. This represented a modest 8% fall on the 166 munitions  released in the previous month.

 

Libya

Compared to the previous month, Libya saw slightly lower levels of airstrikes and civilian harm in November. Between 23 and 31 civilians were locally alleged killed from 169 air and artillery strikes, while in October, 25 to 33 civilians were locally reported killed by 226 strikes.

The great majority of deaths resulted from strikes allegedly conducted by the Libyan National Army (LNA) or its ally the United Arab Emirates with 17 to 25 civilian fatalities blamed on their actions. Together, the two parties reportedly conducted 114 strikes, underlining their dominance in the air which led to General Khalifa Haftar declaring a no-fly zone over Tripoli in late November.

Six reported strikes by the Government of National Accord (GNA) led to one alleged civilian casualty on November 13th in Qasr Bin Gashir. The victim was named as Ahmed Abdel Razzaq Nouri Abu Sedira.

For 49 strikes the belligerent could not be determined or was contested between GNA and LNA. These lead to another civilian death.

In one of the worst incidents, seven to ten civilians were allegedly killed by an LNA or UAE strike on a biscuit factory in Tripoli on November 18th. The same belligerents were accused of conducting a strike on Umm Al Aranib on November 28th when between six and eleven civilians, many of them children, were reportedly killed.

Ahmed Abdel Razzaq Nouri Abu Sedira, killed in an alleged GNA artillery strike on Qasr Bin Gashir, Nov 13th (via heretripoli1)

US counter terrorism campaigns

Somalia

US Africa Command declared that it had conducted three airstrikes against al-Shabaab during November – up from one strike the previous month. The command says it currently assesses that no civilians were injured or killed in these strikes – though local reporting suggested otherwise.

The first declared US strike occurred on November 12th in the vicinity of Jilib, killing one alleged terrorist.

A second strike occurred on November 19th in the vicinity of Qunyo Barrow, killing another terrorist, according to AFRICOM. However the terror group al Shabaab insisted the victim was in fact a local civilian businessman it named as Ismail Issa Bhutan. Somalia News 24/7 quoted a witness who said that the man killed  “was a businessman who had a shop in the town, [and who] was killed in the attack.”

BREAKING: Suspected #US drone strike reported in #AlShabaab-controlled town of Kunya-Barow in #Somalia's Lower Shabelle region. Witnesses say that a man who was a businessman and had a shop in the town was killed in the attack. #Somalia pic.twitter.com/4SVDYT9Ize

— somalia (@somalinews247) November 19, 2019

The third strike of the month occurred on November 30th, again in the vicinity of Jilib. AFRICOM gave no information on the number of alleged terrorists killed in this strike, stating that it was still assessing the results, but that no civilians were harmed.

According to local source Ilwareed, there were in fact two actions. While the first targeted a communications centre, a second “targeted the home of an al-Shabaab official named Abu Abdalla, located in the southern outskirts of Jilib district. Government forces confirmed the time when the officer’s house was bombed, and said the entire house and vehicles were destroyed.”

Mareeg said that four al Shabaab fighters died when the communications centre was hit, though its report suggests a ground attack had been responsible: “The center announced last week that it has been upgraded with modern equipment to improve its communication with al-Shabaab leaders. The center was almost completely destroyed after being targeted by several rocket propelled grenades, according to credible sources.” Mareeg also said that it appeared that the militant target of the second strike had escaped injury.

Yemen

CENTCOM told Airwars that there were no US military strikes during the month of November in Yemen. The last declared CENTCOM action was on June 24th 2019 in Al Bayda province.

It is not known how many actions the CIA conducted in Yemen during the month, if any.

Pakistan

There were no publicly alleged CIA strikes in Pakistan against either Al Qaeda or the Taliban during November. The last such alleged strike was in August 2018.

Advocacy

UK advocacy

UK advocacy officer Maysa Ismael took part in an Action on Armed Violence workshop on ‘Gender and Explosive Weapons’  at Chatham House on November 26th.  The workshop discussed the gendered impact of explosive weapons on civilians and the lack of gender-segregated data when it comes to recording casualties.

Additionally, Maysa attended the launch of Oxford Research Group’s report on ‘Fusion Doctrine in Five Steps: Creating Routine Fusion in Africa’ on November 26th which also presented an opportunity to meet with advocacy and research partners.

European advocacy

On November 4th, the Dutch Ministry of Defence finally claimed public responsibility for an airstrike in Hawijah, Iraq, in June 2015, which led to the deaths of at least 70 civilians. The acknowledgement followed after Dutch media organisations NOS and NRC had published a major investigation asserting that the Netherlands had been responsible for the deadly attack on an ISIS IED factory.

On November 5th, Dutch newspaper NRC published an opinion piece by Airwars director Chris Woods, who wrote that the Hawijah case represented a shocking example of the lack of military and political transparency for civilian harm in the Netherlands; and noting that the Iraqi and Dutch peoples had been denied the basic  facts for more than four years.

Two debates were held by the Dutch parliament on the matter, on November 5th and November 27th. In the run-up to these, Airwars provided Members of Parliament with factual information. For example, we briefed MPs on how other Coalition countries, such as the United States, report on civilian casualty claims as a result of their own airstrikes. We also live tweeted the debates on Twitter in English.

Prime minister Rutte continues to state that "until today, it is unknown how many civilians died", while CENTCOM officials confirmed in December 2018 in an email to Dutch media @NRC and @NOS that 70 civilians had died. pic.twitter.com/AA1M8OSZXz

— Airwars (@airwars) November 27, 2019

In a letter from the current Dutch Minister of Defence published on November 27th, significant improvements for Dutch transparency were promised. For example, the Dutch MoD says it will now publish the date, location and weapons used in airstrikes during the first Dutch deployment period between 2014 and 2016; and to standardise weekly reporting of strikes in case of future missions. These were improvements that Airwars had been pushing for since the first appointment of a Netherlands-based advocacy officer by the organisation back in 2016.

The aftermath of the alleged strike in Hawijah (via Iraqi Revolution)

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▲ The ruins of a civilian home following an alleged Russian strike on Mishmishan, Jisr al Shughour, Idlib, November 7th 2019 (via White Helmets)

Airwars monthly assessment – October 2019

Published

December 2019

Written by

Alex Hopkins

Major conflict monitoring

Turkey in Syria: new front sees civilians in peril

Civilians trapped in northeastern Syria faced renewed danger in October, with the start  of ‘Operation Peace Spring’, conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and its proxy the Syrian National Army (SNA), against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the YPG in northeastern Syria.

The operation, launched on October 9th, came following the chaotic United States decision to withdraw its own forces from northeastern Syria, where the US military had been supporting the SDF. The conflict began with Turkish forces launching air and artillery strikes on border towns such as Tal Abyad in Raqqa province and Ras al-Ain in Hasaka province.

The unilateral Turkish incursion was condemned by US Defence Secretary Dr Mark T Esper and led to dozens of civilian deaths within the first days of the campaign. By October 18th, an estimated 160,000 civilians had also been displaced by the fighting.

In total, Airwars researchers tracked 124 claimed civilian harm events linked to Turkey in northern Syria during October. The majority of events – 65% – were in Hassakah governorate, with 22% in Raqqa, followed by some 14% in Aleppo and a small number of cases in Idlib. The volume of allegations meant that at time of publication, Airwars had not managed to fully research all incidents. However, our current assessment is that between 125 and 165 civilians likely died in 72 events classed as fairly reported.

The violence was frequently bloody. In one of the most publicised events of the month, on October 12th, three civilians including a female politician, the Secretary General of the Future Syria Party, Hevrin Khalaf, were “executed” when the convoy they were travelling in was reportedly ambushed by “Turkish backed mercenary factions” on the road between Jazeera canton and Ain Issa, multiple sources said.

Hevrin Khalaf, 35, the General Secretary of the Future Syria Party, reportedly “execuedt” by Turkish-backed proxies on October 12th (via 35, the General Secretary of Syria Future Party)

The following day, October 13th, between six and 19 civilians – including at least four journalists from multiple countries – died and as many as 74 others were wounded in an alleged Turkish airstrike on a convoy, made up of around 400 civilian vehicles, heading from Jazeera to Ras Al Ain, local media said. Journalists from countries including Brazil, France, and the Ukraine were among the victims. Fatalities included Hawar agency journalist Saad Ahmad, Muhammad Hussein Resho, Fayz Mahmoud Baqi, and Eqîde Eli Osman.

Turkish bombardment on civilians on the road to serikaniye. pic.twitter.com/XnAa4oT3bR

— pyd rojava (@PYD_Rojava) October 13, 2019

GRAPHIC: Footage of the aftermath of an alleged Turkish airstrike on a civilian convoy on October 13th.

On October 18th, yet another “massacre” was reported as Turkish forces reportedly carried out strikes on Zirgan near Ras al Ain, in Hassakah governorate. Both @Raman_Hassi and @TurkeyUntold tweeted footage of the aftermath, in which at least 12 bodies were visible. According to the Kurdish Red Crescent which shared its data with Airwars, 17 civilians died, though their names are currently unknown.

Airwars also tracked 42 alleged civilian casualty events attributed to Kurdish forces counterfire during October. Of these, researchers currently assess 35 incidents as fairly reported. Twenty four events occurred in Syria, the majority in Aleppo governorate, while 11 were tracked across the border in Turkey.

Between 52 and 62 civilians were assessed as likely killed in these 35 events by Kurdish forces during October, with at least another 168 people wounded.

On October 11th for example, local media reported that up to eight civilians were killed and 35 were wounded in alleged SDF/YPG or PKK artillery strikes on the Turkish city of Nusaybin, Mardin province, as reported by several local sources. One civilian fatality was named as Mehmet Sirin Demir, the father of a prominent journalist.

@TRTKurdiTV journalist Gülay Demir‘s father Mehmet Sirin Demir was killed as the result of an attack of the terrorist organisation PKK/YPG on turkish town Nusaybin

8 civilians died and 35 were injured only today in the attack on Nusaybin pic.twitter.com/VSK5VvRJ0X

— EHA News (@eha_news) October 11, 2019

In the worst event attributed to Kurdish forces during the month, sources claimed that ‘the SDF’ executed seven civilians in Ras al Ain, in the northern countryside of al-Hasakah on October 20th, on charges of collaborating with ‘Operation Spring forces’.” The victims included three men from the same family. They were named as Mohamad Ali Al Khalaf, Ismail Ali Al Khalaf, and Abdallah Al Khalaf. According to Mohamad.alothman.1291, the victims were “shot several times in the head”.

Three civilians from the same family were allegedly executed by the SDF in Ras Al Ayn on October 20th, 2019 (via Raqqa RWB)

Russia and the Assad regime in Syria

During October, there was a sharp increase in civilian harm events in Syria reportedly carried out by Russia and the Assad regime. Overall, Airwars researchers tracked 18 locally reported casualty events – a 28% rise on the five incidents recorded during September. All but one of these incidents was in Idlib governorate.

Across these 18 incidents between 23 and 31 civilians were locally reported killed  – compared to just five civilians in the previous month. As many as 63 more civilians were claimed wounded.

Entire families trapped on the ground remained in peril throughout the month as Russia and the regime stepped up their assault. On October 19th, a man and woman from the town of Binnish were killed and three of their children injured in an alleged Russian airstrike on a house in Taftanaz, Idlib, local media reported. Alarmingly, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the strikes “targeted a camp on agricultural land inhabited by displaced families”. The victims were named as Ahmad Kamrou Haj Qaddour, his wife Huda Al Shaar (both killed), and their three children, all of whom were wounded.

Photo of damage caused by an alleged Russian airstrike on the town of Taftanaz on October 19th, 2019 (via Edlib Media Center on Facebook).

In the worst incident of the month, seven or eight civilians died and at least 15 more were wounded in alleged Russian or regime artillery or rocket fire on Al Janoudia in Idlib on October 24th. According to @SyrianCoalition, regime rocket fire bombarded a vegetable market “packed with civilians and farmers”. However, @abuhuzaifa_ blamed “Russian militia shelling”. One of the victims, an adult male, named as Ammar Alikou, died of his injuries on October 27th, 2019, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.

Photo of the alleged Russian and/or Syrian regime artillery and rocket strikes on the town of Al Janodia, Idlib province, on October 24th 2019 (via @SyrianCoalition).

On October 31st, three or four civilians including a member of the civil defence and a child died, and up to 12 more were wounded, in an alleged Russian or regime airstrike on an ammunition depot on the outskirts of Darkoush, Idlib, according to local sources.

The White Helmets named one of the victims, a volunteer, as Ahmad Abdul Hamid Qubba, reporting that he died “while inspecting successive explosions” caused by Russian and regime forces. The White Helmets added that Ahmad had lost his mother, niece and cousin in a previous regime airstrike on Darkoush in 2015. Most poignantly, it said that he was “martyred just days before his wedding”. @IdlibPlus said that a child also died in a “huge explosion” at the depot, though it said that it was unclear what had caused the blast.

استشهاد الشاب أحمد قبة من أبطال الدفاع المدني السوري في إدلب أثناء تفقده الانفجارات المتتالية في بلدة دركوش صباح اليوم التي أحدثها قصف إرهابي من روسيا وقوات الأسد.رحمه الله تعالى وتقبله وعوضه الفردوس الأعلى وألهم أهله ومحبيه الصبر والسلوان. pic.twitter.com/HU2AiR5Jxw

— الائتلاف الوطني السوري (@SyrianCoalition) October 31, 2019

Translation: “A young hero of the Syrian Civil Defence (Ahmad Qibba) was killed in Idlib while inspecting successive explosions in the town of Darkoush this morning [Oct 31st] caused by terrorist shelling from Russia and Assad forces.”

The US-led Coalition in Syria and Iraq

Between five and nine civilians were likely killed and up to 11 more wounded in one casualty incident assessed as fair by Airwars during October.

On October 26th, US forces conducted a ground raid that lethally targeted ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi in Barisha village in Idlib countryside. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, US helicopters came from Turkish territory, carried out a landing in the area and clashed with militants near the targeted house of al-Baghdadi west of Barisha where many casualties were reported. Among the nine alleged civilian deaths were two or three women and up to three children. However al Baghdadi himself was said to have killed three of his own children when he detonated a suicide vest.

Local medical sources said that as a result of the operation, a house was completely destroyed and a number of tents were burned. Seven bodies were found in the area, among them a child and three women, in addition to five injuries.

Aerial photos of the house targeted by US forces #Baghdadi (via Idlib Plus)

Overall, between October 1st and 31st the Coalition reported 19 strikes in Iraq – a 32% fall on September’s 28 strikes.

The alliance once again reported no air or artillery strikes in Syria. However additional ground operations and unilateral US actions also continued. In total, throughout October, Airwars researchers tracked 12 locally reported strikes in Syria that were blamed on the Coalition, though there were no reports of civilian harm attributed to these actions.

All but 11 of these October strikes were in Deir Ezzor governorate. Nine actions reportedly targeted Assad regime forces and the remainder Iranian-backed armed groups and IRGC forces. Airwars has reached out to CENTCOM and asked if the US is conducting unilateral air actions in Syria, as the Coalition has not publicly reported a strike in the country since August. It is also possible that some of these reported ‘Coalition’ actions were instead carried out by Israel, which conducts its own unilateral actions against Iranian and associated forces in Syria.  

According to AFCENT, 166 munitions were dropped on Iraq and Syria from the air in October by the US-led Coalition. Despite the large fall in strikes, this actually represented a 21% rise on the 137 munitions released in the previous month.

.

Libya

Libya saw an increase in reported civilian harm despite a similar number of air and artillery strikes compared to previous months. Between 25 and 33 civilians were locally reported killed by 226 strikes. In September, between 14 and 15 civilian deaths had been alleged from 230 strikes.

Another 56 to 75 civilians were reportedly injured in October by air and artillery actions.

The majority of civilian deaths were allegedly caused by the Libyan National Army (LNA), reportedly killing between 17 and 23 people. In the worst event, up to five civilians were allegedly killed by LNA shelling on Qasr bin Gashir, a town in the Triploi district, on October 31st.

A worrying development was the increased targeting of civilian infrastructure by the LNA. On October 7th a doctor was allegedly killed by either an LNA or allied UAE airstrike on Qasr Bin Gashir. And on October 23rd and 24th Haftar’s forces allegedly struck three field hospitals, killing two and injuring five more health workers. In another incident on October 6th, an LNA airstrike hit the Equestrian Club in Janzur, allegedly injuring six people, most of them children.

Government of National Accord (GNA) strikes only led to one reportedly wounded civilian during the month – an indication of the LNA’s near-total air dominance. However, various civilian harm events were contested between the GNA and LNA due to indiscriminate shelling by artillery and rockets, which in turn led to between 3 and 4 civilian deaths.

US counter-terrorism campaigns

Somalia

US Africa Command declared that it had conducted just one airstrike in Somalia, on al-Shabaab, during October – a sharp fall on the six declared actions during the previous month. AFRICOM told Airwars that it currently assessed that no civilians had been killed or injured in this strike.

The attack occurred on October 25th against “ISIS terrorists in the Golis Mountain region”. AFRICOM said it assessed that three terrorists had been  killed.

U.S. airstrike targets ISIS-Somalia in support of the Federal Government of Somalia – https://t.co/mSj8dNYxWY pic.twitter.com/nYdzB4DdYP

— US AFRICOM (@USAfricaCommand) October 25, 2019

Yemen

CENTCOM told Airwars that there were no US military strikes during the month of October in Yemen. The last declared CENTCOM action was on June 24th 2019 in Al Bayda province.

It is not known how many actions the CIA conducted in Yemen during the month, if any.

Pakistan

There were no publicly alleged CIA strikes in Pakistan against either Al Qaeda or the Taliban during October. The last such alleged strike was in August 2018.

Advocacy

European advocacy

After a strong advocacy year by previous incumbent Maike Awater, Laurie Treffers has now taken over as our Netherlands based acting conflict researcher and advocacy officer as of October 1st.

Laurie has been working as a geolocation volunteer with Airwars for over a year now, researching both Coalition and Russian airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. With her experience in journalism and communications, and an MA in Conflict Studies and Human Rights, Laurie says she is excited to be continuing our work at Airwars to push European states for more transparency and accountability for civilians harmed in conflict.

On October 18th, our European advocacy team sent a joint statement in partnership with Amnesty International, PAX for Peace, the Open State Foundation and academics from the Conflict Studies Department at Utrecht University, to the Dutch Minister of Defence. This called on the Ministry to release data on historical Dutch airstrikes in Syria and Iraq; to publish the Ministry’s own research into civilian casualties in that conflict; and to put improved processes of accountability and justice in place. On the same day that the joint statement was sent to the Minister, a major news story broke on Dutch involvement in a mass casualty civilian harm event at Hawijah, Iraq in 2015. See our associated article here.

On October 21st, our UK Advocacy Officer, Maysa Ismael, took part in a parliamentary discussion on ‘Exploring Avenues for Accountability for Victims in Yemen’ organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group.

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▲ An alleged Turkish artillery strike hits Al Asadiye, Hasakah Governorate, Syria, on October 29th 2019 (via @y_ozgurpolitika)

Airwars monthly assessment – September 2019

Published

November 2019

Written by

Alex Hopkins

Major conflict monitoring

Libya

Libya witnessed an uptick of airstrikes in September as the Libyan National Army (LNA) air force, back by the United Arab Emirates, increased its campaign to seize areas of the country still outside its control. Local sources claimed 230 air and artillery strikes, of which 141 were either conducted by the LNA or the UAE.

However, the heavy bombing did not lead to more civilian casualties than in the previous month. Between 14 and 15 civilians were reportedly killed and another 29 to 36 injured. In August between 62 and 71 civilians had been reported killed. That decrease can be explained by the absence of major civilian harm events.

In the worst known civilian harm event in September, between three and four civilians were reportedly killed by an LNA/Emirati airstrike on the Al Qalaa neighbourhood of Murzuq.

Altogether, LNA/UAE strikes led to four or five alleged civilian deaths. Strikes by the Government of National Accord (GNA) and Turkey led to six civilians deaths. Other incidents were caused by unknown belligerents, or by indiscriminate artillery shelling – the source of which is contested between the GNA and LNA.

In another major development, the US conducted four airstrikes in Libya between September 19th and 29th, its first officially declared actions since November 2018. AFRICOM said the strikes killed 43 ISIS fighters in Libya’s south, apparently degrading their capabilities to operate in the country.

Smoke rises after an alleged LNA/UAE airstrike on Mitiga Airport in Tripoli on September 26th (via Libya Observer)

Russia and the Assad regime in Syria

After four months of heavy bombardment, civilians trapped in Idlib governorate finally saw some respite during September thanks to a Moscow-brokered ceasefire which came into force on Saturday August 31st. This resulted in an immediate and drastic decline in allegations of civilian harm.

Airwars tracked just five casualty events reportedly carried out by Russia or the regime during September – compared to 109 in August. This is the lowest number of events tracked since May 2019. Across these five events, five civilians were claimed killed with nine or ten more wounded. All but one of the events were in Idlib governorate.

However, while allegations against Russia all but ceased, claims against the Syrian regime continue to surface in both local and regional media sources, with reports suggesting that Russia was providing reconnaissance support to the regime’s alleged attacks on rebels and civilians.

The second week of September saw a resumption in civilian harm allegations against Russia, with the first coming on September 10th. An alleged Russian airstrike killed an elderly displaced civilian man in the village of Duhr in Darkush area. The Syrian Network for Human Rights named 76-year-old Ahmad Eisa al Musa as killed, adding that the victim died when Russian warplanes fired missiles near a building sheltering IDPs. Ahmad Eisa al Musa’s son Abu Anas told Al Quds: “We were asleep at midnight when we heard the sound of a rocket that fell 50 meters away from us. Everyone came out but my father was late being sick and couldn’t walk easily.”

Syrian Civil Defense forces carrying the body of Ahmad Eisa al Musa, killed by an alleged Russian airstrike at around midnight between September 10th and 11th (via Syrian Network for Human Rights).

There were two events on September 12th. In the first, one woman was killed in alleged Russian or regime airstrikes on Sarja, Idlib according to a single source, the Shaam News Network.

The second event that day – and the worst of the month – occurred in Ma’aret Al Nu’man, Idlib. Two civilians including a child died and five or six others were injured in alleged Russian or regime strikes. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, “shelling carried out by regime forces stationed in Khan Sheikhoun” killed a child and injured six other civilians. The little girl was named as Islam Sadir. Sources published very graphic images of burnt bodies.

Islam Sadir, killed in an alleged Russian or regime strike on Ma’aret Al Nu’man, Sept 12th (via @SyrianCoalition)

The following day, September 13th, one civilian died due to his injuries after an alleged Russian airstrike on the village of Aynata on the Al Rouj plains, Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Step News Agency added that civilians were also wounded, though it gave no numbers.

Additionally, there was one casualty event in Banes, Aleppo on September 15th. Several civilians were wounded after the explosion of a cluster bomb that was allegedly dropped by Russian warplanes, according to a single source, @so_ria98.

 

The US-led Coalition in Syria and Iraq

Between September 1st and 30th, the Coalition reported 28 strikes in Iraq – four more than August’s 24 strikes. It reported no multilateral actions in Syria for the month. However additional ground operations and unilateral US actions also continued.

According to AFCENT, 137 munitions were dropped on Iraq and Syria from the air in September by the US-led Coalition. This represented a 37% drop on the 218 released in the previous month.

Airwars tracked five civilian casualty events allegedly linked to the US-led Coalition in Syria during September – the same number as linked to Russia in Syria. This was two more events than during the previous month.

Currently, we assess three of these five events as fairly reported, and likely killing between three and five civilians. The first event occurred on September 4th. Local media said that one child, Ali al-Ahmad, was alleged killed at dawn during a landing operation carried out by the international Coalition in between the towns of Maizeela and the village of Marat on the road Deir Ezzor, and the province al-Hasakeh. The operation was reportedly accompanied by a military convoy believed to be from the SDF. Three other civilians were said to have been arrested.

On the same day (September 4th), two civilians were reportedly killed during another landing operation by Coalition forces. According to Asrar7days, US occupation helicopters carried out an aerial landing by the lake of Al-Bassel dam towards the east, reaching Wadi Al-Raml and another in Al-Haddaja village. The source noted that this came “amid fear and panic among the residents.”

There was one further event on the morning of September 19th in Al Zur, Deir Ezzor when two unidentified men were killed by an alleged Coalition drone strike, according to local sources. Deir Ezzor 24 said the men were masked and on a motorcycle when struck, though their combatant status was unclear. Activists told Smart News that it was not possible to identify the victims because their bodies were burned, but that they were  “most likely to be two members of the Islamic State”. Ain Hasaka claimed that activists later revealed the identity of one of the dead as  Abboud al-Fahad, a close relative of ISIS leader Hammam al-Tayyana.

#D24:Two masked men riding a motorcycle were targeted by an aircraft believed to belong to the coalition in #Azzir village near #AlBassirah city east of #DeirEzzor. pic.twitter.com/0s3MekoKmu

— ديرالزور24 (@DeirEzzor24) September 19, 2019

Deir Ezzor 24 footage of the aftermath of the strike on a motorcycle in Al Zur, Deir Ezzor, Sept 19th. The combatant status of the two adult male victims was unclear.

US counter-terrorism campaigns

Somalia

US Africa Command declared that it had conducted six airstrikes in Somalia on al-Shabaab during September – up from one in the previous month. It told Airwars that it currently assessed that no civilians had been killed or injured in these strikes.

On September 3rd, one strike killed an alleged terrorist in the vicinity of Jilib. In a second incident on September 3rd and not previously declared, AFRICOM officials later confirmed to Airwars that they carried out an action that struck an “al Shabaab associated vehicle”, also in the vicinity of Jilib.

A strike on September 17th killed two claimed al-Shabaab terrorists in Lower Juba Province. And in another incident not previously declared by AFRICOM, officials later confirmed to Airwars that they had conducted a strike in the lower Shabelle on September 24th, targeting “one al Shabaab associated vehicle”.

Two strikes also occurred on September 30th. In the first, the US military conducted an airstrike in self defence against an al-Shabaab IED attack on Baledogle Military Airfield (BMA) complex in Baledogle, US Africa Command reported. Ten terrorists fighters were killed and one vehicle destroyed. The second September 30th strike occurred in Qunyo Barrow, reportedly killed one al Shabaab fighter.

It is not known how many actions the CIA conducted in Somalia during the month, if any.

Yemen

CENTCOM told Airwars that there were no US military strikes during the month of September in Yemen. The last declared CENTCOM action was on June 24th 2019 in Al Bayda province.

It is not known how many actions the CIA conducted in Yemen during the month, if any.

Pakistan

There were no publicly alleged CIA strikes in Pakistan against either Al Qaeda or the Taliban during September. The last such alleged strike was in August 2018.

Advocacy

Military advocacy

In September the Coalition admitted the deaths of 22 additional civilians and the injuries of 11 others, over seven separate incidents – four of which were Airwars referrals. This included one mass casualty incident, in which the US admitted to killing 16 civilians in a strike in al Shafa, Iraq in April 2017. Local media at the time alleged that the 16 that had been killed were part of the same family.

“The Coalition conducted 34,573 strikes between August 2014 and the end of August 2019. During this period, based on information available, CJTF-OIR assesses at least 1,335 civilians have been unintentionally killed by Coalition actions since the beginning of Operation Inherent Resolve,” their report read.

The Coalition has now admitted civilian harm in 326 individual events across Iraq and Syria.

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▲ Smoke rises over the centre of Tripoli following an alleged Libyan Air Force strike on the headquarters of the Nawasi battalion, Sept 27th 2019 (via @LYyWitness)

Airwars monthly assessment – August 2019

Published

September 2019

Written by

Alex Hopkins

Major conflict monitoring

Russia and the Assad regime in Syria

As the Russian-backed regime offensive against rebels in Idlib and Hama continued during August, civilians trapped in these devastated governorates continued to pay a heavy price for the Assad government’s gains. Nevertheless, the month saw a 10% fall in civilian casualty events linked to Russia and/or the regime, with the maximum claimed death toll also dropping, by 53%.

Even so, Airwars tracked 109 separate alleged civilian harm incidents during the month. Once more, the volume of allegations meant that at time of publication Airwars was still researching and assessing August’s civilian harm incidents. However, initial estimates show that as many as 203 civilians were allegedly killed by Russian and/or regime actions in August, compared to a maximum of 432 such deaths across 121 events in the previous month.

Once again, Idlib bore the brunt: 90% of events tracked by Airwars were in the governorate. There were 10 additional incidents in Hama and one in Aleppo. Losses among the most vulnerable of civilians were again high: of the 203 civilians locally alleged killed, at least 35 were children and 16 women. As many as 432 additional civilians were reportedly injured. As Airwars researchers uncover further information on these events, it is likely that this toll will rise.

In the majority of cases, it was impossible to tell whether Russia or the regime were responsible for the civilian harm, with conflicting claims against both belligerents. Rarely in doubt was whether harm had befallen civilians. In the worst incident of the month, on August 16th, in Hass, idlib, most sources agreed that Russian airstrikes killed between 13 and 16 civilians including up to six children and three women – wounding as many as 30 more. However, the White Helmets also reported the use of regime artillery in the area.

According to Euphrates Post, Russian jets bombed “homes of displaced people” in the town. Local civil defence said that “a foetus, born prematurely” was among those slain, stating that “he was killed before he was given a name, and all members of his family were killed”.  His father was named as Abdul Jabbar Othman. The Syrian Network for Human Rights published an image showing body bags lining a corridor.

Bodies lined a corridor following an alleged Russian airstrike on Hass, Idlib on August 16th (via the Syrian Network for Human Rights)

On the following day, August 17th, a further six to eight civilians died in an alleged Russian or regime airstrike on Deir Sharqi in Idlib. According to the Step News Agency, the victims were all members of one family, and Smart said that they were comprised of a mother and her six children. Multiple sources named the fatalities as Ibrahim Hamoud Al-Hamoud, Majd Hamoud Al-Hamoud, Mohammed Hamoud Al-Hamoud, Ahmad. Hamoud Hamoud, Hamsa Hamoud Hamoud, Hudaiba Hamoud Hamoud and, a woman, Ghada Hamoud Hamoud. While local reports predominantly attributed blame to the Syrian regime, a number accused both Russian and Assad forces in their reporting.

Idlib’s Ma’arat al Numan came under particularly heavy fire during August, with Airwars researchers tracking eight separate civilian harm incidents in the town linked to Russia. The most devastating of these occurred on August 28th when between nine and 13 civilians were locally reported killed in what sources referred to as “a massacre” carried out by Russian or regime warplanes. According to the Euphrates Post, the civilians killed included five brothers. The Step News Agency reported that “a Su-24 warplane dropped its cargo of eight vacuum rockets at once in Ma’aret al-Nu’man, killing 10 civilians, including five members of the family – a mother and her children”.

The aftermath of an alleged Russian airstrike on Ma’arat al Numan, August 28th 2019 (via White Helmets)

Libya

Libya saw another intense month of fighting in August, as the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army continued to battle each other for control of the country. Between 62 and 71 civilians were locally alleged killed, a decrease on July’s tally of  75 to 114 deaths. Airwars counted 143 reported air and artillery strikes, one more than in the previous month.

An alleged LNA or Emirati strike in Murzuq was by far the worst civilian harm event recorded in August. At least 42 civilians were reportedly killed on August 4th when an airstrike struck a town hall meeting.

The event again raised fears of the conflict spiralling out of control due to international involvement. Civilian harm was also reported from Turkish airstrikes in two events, supposedly killing two people near Sirte.

Altogether, most civilian casualties were attributed to LNA or Emirati strikes, with 53 to 60 deaths claimed between those allies. Between 6 and 8 deaths were also reported from GNA and Turkish strikes. As both sides to the fighting have become increasingly complex, it can often be difficult to distinguish who exactly conducted an airstrike, as both the GNA and LNA seem to rely exclusively on foreign air power now.

Smoke rises at Mitiga International Airport after artillery shelling on August 3rd 2019 (via Libya Akhbar)

The US-led Coalition in Syria and Iraq

Between August 1st and 31st, the Coalition reported 24 strikes in Iraq – a fall of 27% on July’s 33 declared strikes. Additionally, it reported two strikes in Syria, up from the one strike conducted in the previous month. However additional ground operations and unilateral US actions also continued.

According to AFCENT, 218 munitions were dropped on Iraq and Syria from the air in August by the US-led Coalition. This represented a 108% jump on the 105 released in the previous month – and the greatest number of bombs and missiles fired since March 2019.

Our researchers tracked three civilian harm incidents linked to the Coalition in Syria during August, one less than in July. However, worryingly the civilian death toll rose on the previous month. Current estimates show that between seven and 37 civilians likely died in Coalition actions during August, compared to between four and 22 in July. Proportionally, a high number of Coalition civilian harm events are presently being reported per strike in Syria – suggesting either a change in tactics or a lowering of prioritised protections for non combatants.

Two of these three incidents were reportedly counter-terrorism raids. On August 1st, six civilians likely died in a raid on Baka’a village in the area of Tal Hamis, Hasakah. According to Khabour, “Two aircraft belonging to the International Alliance landed in the village of Beka`a, before heavy machine guns and rockets hit several houses in the village [….].The bombing led to the death of an entire Iraqi family, after the collapse of the house over their heads.” The source added that Coalition forces “withdrew immediately after the destruction of the house, without retrieving any bodies.” A report by Vedeng News said that two members of ISIS were arrested in a house.

On August 16th, two unidentified men were reportedly killed in another Coalition ground operation, this time in Al Man’iya in Raqqa governorate. According to Shaam News, the Coalition operation was “targeting two displaced families”. Suriye.u.a.d said that two “unidentified men” were killed, though their combat status is currently unclear.

The third, and most concerning incident, occurred on August 31st in Kafr Jalis, Idlib. CENTCOM confirmed that it had conducted a unilateral US airstrike on what was reportedly an Al-Qaeda command centre. Step News said that the strike killed 14 members of ISIS. However, local sources claimed that children and women from the families of members of ISIS living in the area were killed in the attack as well. The Syrian Human Rights Committee reported that 29 people were killed, identifying 22 by name, of whom six were children. Baladi meanwhile estimated a total death toll of 30, most of whom were buried under the rubble, while Alquds reported on a total of 51 dead, though it is unclear exactly how many of these were civilians.

US counter-terrorism campaigns

Somalia

US Africa Command declared that it had conducted just one airstrike in Somalia during August – the same number as July.

According to AFRICOM, the strike occurred on August 20th and targeted an al-Shabaab terrorist in the vicinity of Qunyo Barrow. The command said that one terrorist was killed, and that at this time it assessed that no civilians were killed or injured in this strike.

Yemen

CENTCOM told Airwars that there were no US military strikes during the month of August in Yemen. The last declared US action was on June 24th in Al Bayda province.

However, on August 21st, a social report alleged that a “US drone airstrike targeted Al Qaeda base on the border of Al-Bayda and Marib governorates in Yemen”.

Airwars reached out to CENTCOM and asked if it had carried out this attack; CENTCOM reiterated that it “did not conduct any strikes in Yemen in August 2019”. This could, therefore, be a CIA strike.

US drone airstrike targeted Al Qaeda base on the border of Al-Bayda and Marib governorates in Yemen https://t.co/LuWXQdFiq1

— Crispin Burke (@CrispinBurke) August 21, 2019

Pakistan

There were no publicly alleged CIA strikes in Pakistan against either Al Qaeda or the Taliban during August. The last alleged strike was in August 2018.

Advocacy

At the end of August, the US led Coalition published its 33rd consecutive monthly civilian casualty report. This declared that “The Coalition conducted 34,580 strikes between August 2014 and the end of July 2019. During this period, based on information available, CJTF-OIR assesses at least 1,313 civilians have been unintentionally killed by Coalition actions since the beginning of Operation Inherent Resolve.”

The US-led alliance conceded just one new incident, which it said was an Airwars referral. Five civilians died at Karabla near al Qaim on August 23rd 2017, the Coalition now concluded.

The Airwars geolocation team had itself identified the site (34.376786, 41.060586) of a locally reported attack near an elementary school which killed five civilians, including three women. Those precise coordinates then helped the Coalition’s civilian casualty assessment team to determine it had in fact been responsible for the attack.

Original reports of the incident mention the area surrounding Al Mahdi (المهدي) Elementary School in the neighbourhood of Karabla (الكرابلة). Airwars was able to pinpoint the school – which helped Coalition assessors to conclude that its aircraft had indeed killed five civilians.

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▲ The aftermath of an airstrike on Ma'arat al Numan in Syria, August 28th (via White Helmets)

Airwars monthly assessment – July 2019

Published

August 2019

Written by

Alex Hopkins

Major conflict monitoring

Russia and the Assad regime in Syria

July was another terrible month for civilians trapped in Idlib and Hama governorates, as the Russian-backed Assad offensive continued to intensify. In total, Airwars tracked 121 separate alleged civilian harm incidents, three more than in June. Some 82% of these events were in Idlib governorate and 16% in Hama. There were also three incidents reported in Aleppo.

The volume of allegations meant that, once more, at time of publication Airwars was still researching and assessing July’s civilian harm incidents. However, unrefined estimates show that across these 121 incidents, up to 432 civilians were allegedly killed by Russian and/or regime actions. That tally included at least 63 children and 42 women. As many as 800 additional civilians were reportedly injured. As Airwars researchers uncover further information on these events, it is likely that this death toll will rise.

July saw a number of disturbing mass casualty incidents in Idlib, where scores of civilians reportedly died. The chaotic situation meant that in the majority of events (78%) it was impossible to determine whether Russia or the regime were responsible for deaths – with frequent and conflicting claims against both belligerents.

On July 5th, between 7 and 16 civilians were reported killed and up to 24 more wounded in airstrikes on Mhambel in Idlib, according to local media. The Syrian Network for Human Rights – which blamed regime missiles and barrel bombs – named the children Arij, Saher and Samer Abdul Qader Abdul Aal, along with their father and their mother Yasmin Taher Hafyan among those slain, adding that the shelling resulted in “fires and destruction of homes and property, forcing large numbers of people to flee.” While eleven sources pointed to the regime, some others named both Russia and the regime as responsible.

The children Arij, Saher and Samer Abdul Qader Abdul Aal were killed along with their father and their mother Yasmin Taher Hafyan in an alleged regime barrel bombing in Mhambel town, Idlib, July 5th (via Syrian Network for Human Rights)

Civilian homes repeatedly came under fire during the month. On July 16th, between eight and 12 civilians died in alleged regime or Russian airstrikes on Ma`ar Shourien in Idlib. Shaam News referred to the incident as “a massacre”, while Syria u.a.d said that the regime had struck a market, resulting in “30 dead and wounded”.

The White Helmets attend the scene of a strike on Ma`ar Shourien, Idlib, July 16th (via Macro Media Centre)

Much worse was to come on July 22nd with another alleged Russian or regime airstrike on both a market and civilian homes, this time in Ma’arat Al Nu’man. The final death toll spanned between 25 and 42 civilians, with up to 80 more wounded. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights referred to the incident as “the biggest massacre since the beginning of the violent escalation at the end of last April”.

Footage from the aftermath of the alleged Russian/regime strike on a market in Ma’arat Al Nu’man, July 22nd.

Libya

Libya witnessed a sharp increase in civilian casualties in July, largely due to a devastating strike on a migrant detention in Tajoura on July 3rd that killed at least 53 civilians. The incident marked the worst case of civilian harm in the North African country since 2011.

Blame for the event was apportioned to the rebel Libyan National Army (LNA) by most sources, with the rival, UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) claiming it was in fact conducted by an Emirati F-16 in support of the LNA.

Between 53 and 80 civilians were reported killed at Tajoura – many  of them migrants and refugees from other nations. An additional 10 to 17 civilians were reportedly killed during July by other LNA air and artillery strikes in Libya.

According to local sources, GNA strikes also killed between 6 and 10 civilians in July. Ally Turkey, which reportedly increased air support for the UN-backed government, was allegedly responsible for at least one civilian death in  a drone strike.

Altogether, between 75 and 114 civilians were reportedly killed by 141 air and artillery strikes in Libya in July. This marked a significant increase on the 6 to 14 deaths resulting from 116 monitored strikes in June.

Scorched cars after an alleged LNA airstrike on Gheryan on July 31st (via Ean Libya)

The US-led Coalition in Syria and Iraq

Between July 2nd and July 31st, the Coalition reported 33 strikes in Iraq – an increase on the 13 strikes conducted within the previous four week period. Additionally, the Coalition reported one strike in Syria, the first publicly declared action in that country since May 4th.However ground raids and Special Forces actions have also continued – which are often not reported.

According to AFCENT, 105 munitions were dropped on Iraq and Syria from the air in July by the Coalition – a 22% fall on the 135 released in the previous month.

However, with the US-led alliance still refusing to give the locations of its strikes, it remains impossible to  to assess where or on which specific dates these strikes occurred – and for Airwars to cross-match any potential civilian harm events. This was particularly worrying in July, a month in which Airwars tracked four incidents of civilian harm in Syria allegedly linked to US-led Coalition forces.

On July 13th, local media reported that Abed Abdullah al-Numan, a shepherd from the town of Al Tayana, was killed by an alleged Coalition airstrike when he was out working in the Faltih desert (Badit Faltih), north of Deir Ezzor, near the Syrian-Iraqi border. The Syrian Network for Human Rights said that the aircraft responsible was “without a pilot”, while Suriye u.a.d blamed a Coalition helicopter.

Shepherd Abed Abdullah al-Numan was out with his sheep when he was struck by an alleged Coalition airstrike at Badit Faltih, north of Deir Ezzor – near the Syrian-Iraqi border, on July 13th (image via Euphrates Post).

On July 29th, alleged Coalition airstrikes on the Al Zer area of Deir Ezzor claimed the lives of a number of people and injured others, although it is unclear from reports whether they were combatants or non-combatants. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Coalition targeted an ISIS cell in hiding, killing five members. However Baladi reported that the victims were civilians, naming them as “Abdul Karim Mohammed al-Wattb, the son of Hussein al-Hindula, and a young man from the town of Zer”.

Additionally, between two and 15 civilians died in a counter-terrorism raid on Al Takaihi near Al Basira town, Deir Ezzor, on July 16th. The Coalition reportedly struck the house of an ISIS leader, Ragheb Hussein al-Hindoura, at dawn after he refused to surrender when the house was besieged by the SDF. According to Deir Ezzor 24, 15 civilians in the adjacent house were killed, though Euphrates Post dismissed claims of civilian harm, reporting that only Ragheb Hussein al-Hindoura was killed – and his wife injured. Orient News noted that the Coalition had carried out “dozens of landings in the countryside of Deir Ezzor, targeting elements, leaders and cells”.

There was one other civilian harm event linked to the Coalition. On July 4th, a child was reported killed and another wounded in a collision with a Coalition vehicle in Al Hasakah. According to Halab Today, the two children were on a motorcycle which collided with a Coalition vehicle on patrol. Kurdstreet News and Rojava052 claimed that the vehicle belonged to French forces. Hani Al Afin, a 12-year-old, was reportedly killed, while 15-year-old Yasser Abdul-Baki suffered concussion.

 

US counter-terrorism campaigns

Somalia

US Africa Command declared that it had conducted just one airstrike in Somalia during July – a sharp fall from the six strikes carried out in the previous month.

The strike occurred on July 27th against ISIS terrorists in the Golis mountains region in northern Somalia, reportedly killing one terrorist. AFRICOM currently assesses that no civilians were harmed in this strike.

US Army General Stephen J. Townsend – who had previously led the US-led Coalition against ISIS in Iraq and Syria – took charge of AFRICOM in a ceremony on July 27th, replacing General Thomas D. Waldhauser, who had led the command since 2016.

Yemen

CENTCOM told Airwars that there were no US military strikes during the month of July in Yemen. The last declared US action was on June 24th in Al Bayda province.

It is unknown whether the CIA separately carried out any attacks in Yemen during July.

Pakistan

There were no publicly alleged CIA strikes in Pakistan against either Al Qaeda or the Taliban during July. The last alleged strike was in July 2018.

Advocacy

UK advocacy

Airwars UK Advocacy Officer Chloe Skinner, and Deputy Director Dmytro Chupryna, met with a representative from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in July, as part of our ongoing engagement with the forthcoming review of the UK’s ‘Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’ policy paper.

During the meeting, Airwars made a number of  recommendations for inclusion within the prospective review. These included the improvement of assessment processes to better monitor civilian harm resulting from military actions; the establishment of Civilian Casualty (CIVCAS) Teams during UK conflicts; the appointment of a senior civilian within the military with responsibility for non combatant harm issues; the need for military engagement with external sources, and the reconciliation of public reports of harm; a commitment to better practice based on a lessons learned approach; and the need for annual reporting on civilian casualties resulting from UK actions to Parliament.

Airwars maintains that the proper assessment and reporting of those civilians killed in UK military actions – and a lessons learned approach informed by those fatalities – is a baseline requirement for an update to a paper focused upon the protection of civilians. Airwars will continue to engage in this ongoing process.

Military advocacy

During July, the US-led Coalition conceded two additional civilian harm events during the war against ISIS – admitting two deaths and three injuries. This brought the admitted Coalition tally since 2014 to at least 1,321 civilian fatalities.

The Coalition also dismissed as ‘Non Credible’ some 62 additional cases, most of which were referrals from the Amnesty International/ Airwars investigation into the US-led assault on Raqqa in 2017, in which at least 1,600 civilian deaths likely resulting from Coalition actions were highlighted.

 

Additional reporting: Maike Awater, Abbie Cheeseman, Oliver Imhof and Chloe Skinner.

Conflict monitoring and assessments (July):  Maike Awater, Poppy Bowers, Laura Bruun, Abbie Cheeseman, Shihab Halep, Salim Habib, Alex Hopkins, Oliver Imhof, Osama Mansour, Hanna Rullmann, Laurie Treffers and Anna Zahn.

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▲ The aftermath of an alleged Russian or regime airstrike on civilian homes and a market in Ma’arat Al Nu’man, July 22nd (via Syria Civil Defense)