Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

Lib2011-079

Incident date

April 27, 2011

Location

East of Steel Factory, Misrata, Libya

Geolocation

32.336699, 15.215170 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Nearby landmark level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A NATO airstrike reportedly killed between 11 and 12 rebels in a friendly fire incident near Misurata.

CNN said 11 rebels were killed and two wounded and added: “Angry survivors told Marie Colvin of The Sunday Times that they and the victims were on the coast, east of a steel plant, when a NATO plane bombed them. There were no other planes in the sky, the survivors said. NATO spokesman Eric Povel said he knew nothing about the report and would likely not learn more for several hours.”

Frian posted on Twitter: “A NATO airstrike in the besieged rebel-held city of Misurata mistakenly killed 12 Libyan rebels”

Other sources published similar posts, though with none of them specifying on which day the incident happened.

NATO itself reported hitting “2 rocket launchers; 2 artillery vehicles; 1 armoured personnel carrier” near Misurata on that day but did not mention friendly fire.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the shore to the east of the Steel Factory for which the generic coordinates are: 32.336699, 15.215170. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • 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.
  • Known belligerent
    NATO forces
  • Suspected target
    Libyan rebel forces
  • Belligerents reported killed
    11–12

Sources (5) [ collapse]

NATO forces Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

NATO forces

In the vicinity of Misurata: 2 rocket launchers; 2 artillery vehicles; 1 armoured personnel carrier.

Summary

  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • 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.
  • Known belligerent
    NATO forces
  • Suspected target
    Libyan rebel forces
  • Belligerents reported killed
    11–12

Sources (5) [ collapse]