Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

LC017

Incident date

May 11, 2015

Location

طبرق, Tobruk, Butnan, Libya

Geolocation

32.074003, 23.983199 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

According to international and local sources, a Turkish ship was hit by both airstrikes and artillery shelling from the LNA. A deputy captain was reportedly killed in the attack, and another crew member injured.

The incident took place 16km off the coast from Tobruk on the way to Derna. Al Jazeera quoted the second captain of the tanker Zafar Kalayegy who opposed the government’s statement (see below) and said the ship “was attacked without any prior notice and any warning.”

According to Abwaba, “the Libyan army bombed a Turkish tanker off the coast of Tobruk on its way to the coast of Derna. The Libyan air force carried out a military operation targeting the elements of the Da’dash organisation, which controls Derna, in northeastern Libya, and continued until Monday morning, Libyan sources told Al-Bawaba News. The source added that Libyan naval forces warned the Turkish ship to sail in the direction of the coast of Derna but did not respond, as confirmed by the military spokesman of the Libyan army in a press statement this morning, where he said that the Turkish ship was bombed after warning not to approach Derna.”

Turkey described the attack as “despicable”, while a report by Azamil said that “the internationally-recognised Libyan government confirmed that it had bombed a Turkish ship off the Libyan coast after warning it was approaching and killing a crew member”.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) issued a statement condemning the attack.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Libyan National Army

Sources (23) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention a tanker being struck 16km from the shoreline of Tobruk (طبرق) city. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for Tobruk are: 32.074003, 23.983199.

Libyan National Army Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Libyan National Army
  • Libyan National Army position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Libyan National Army

Sources (23) [ collapse]