Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

Lib2011-025

Incident date

February 26, 2011

Location

ميدان الشهداء, Martyrs' Square, Al Zawiyah, Libya

Geolocation

32.752250, 12.718912 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Nearby landmark level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On February 26th, 2011, 50 civilians were reported killed and another 50 wounded as a result of heavy artillery shelling on the city of al-Zawiya by Gaddafi forces. Thirty of the wounded were taken to another location, though no other information was provided about casualties.

Al-Jazeera was the only source to report on the strike, quoting a local resident as stating that “mercenaries loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi killed at least 50 civilians in heavy artillery shelling during violent clashes last night with opponents of the regime, while about 50 others were wounded and 30 people were taken to an unknown destination.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention Martyrs’ Square (ميدان الشهداء ) being struck in the city of Zawiya (الزاوية‎), for which the general coordinates are: 32.752250, 12.718912. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    50
  • Civilians reported injured
    50
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Gaddafi Forces
  • Suspected target
    Libyan rebel forces

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Gaddafi Forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Gaddafi Forces
  • Gaddafi Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    50
  • Civilians reported injured
    50
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Gaddafi Forces
  • Suspected target
    Libyan rebel forces

Sources (1) [ collapse]