Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

Lib2011-057

Incident date

April 1, 2011

Location

مرسى البريقة, Brega, Al Wahat, Libya

Geolocation

30.411123, 19.570076 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between six and seven civilians were reported killed in a NATO airstrike in the outskirts of Brega.

The BBC wrote: “A direct hit on an ammunition truck and trailer in a street in Zawia el Argobe sent a hail of shrapnel into nearby houses, [Dr Refardi] said. Four of the dead were female, including three children from the same family, aged between 12 and 16, the BBC’s Ben Brown reports from Brega.

“Dr Refardi said he had spoken to the family of the girls who had been killed and ‘there was no anger’ at the coalition forces. ‘If these tanks had entered Ajdabiya it would have been a massacre,’ he said. ‘They [the Libyan people] are expecting more than this, because they know the Gaddafi forces are using civilians as a shield.’

“Nato officials told the BBC they were making inquiries ‘down our operations chain to find out if indeed there is any information on the operation side that would support this claim’. Later, Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said six civilians had been killed by the ‘immoral’ air strike, and described it as a ‘crime against humanity’.”

The BBC added that 25 people were injured in the attack, while RT Arabic said most of those harmed were children.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6 – 7
  • (3–4 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    25
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    NATO forces
  • Suspected target
    Gaddafi forces

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Brega (البريقة), for which the generic coordinates are: 30.411123, 19.570076. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

NATO forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    NATO forces
  • NATO forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6 – 7
  • (3–4 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    25
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    NATO forces
  • Suspected target
    Gaddafi forces

Sources (4) [ collapse]