Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Belligerent
Country
Libya
start date
end date
Civilian Harm Status
Belligerent Assessment
Declassified Documents
Infrastructure

Incident Code

Lib2011-024

Incident date

February 26, 2011

Location

بين صبراتة وسرمان, Between Sabratha and Sarman, Zawiya, Libya

Geolocation

32.762800, 12.503712 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Subdistrict level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On February 21st, 2011, between 12 and 24 civilians were reported injured by Gaddafi forces between Sarman and Sibrata. Al Jazeera reported Reuters quoting the Libyan newspaper Quirna.

Al Jazeera reports “Reuters quoted a correspondent for the Libyan newspaper Qurina as saying that Gaddafi’s al-Khuwailidi al-Hamidi Brigade fired randomly in the area without specifying the circumstances of the shooting or the identity of the victims.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Ground operation
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.

Sources (2) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the area in between the cities of Sabratha (صبراتة) and Sarman (سرمان). Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for a middle point between these two cities are: 32.762800, 12.503712.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Ground operation
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.

Sources (2) [ collapse]

Incident Code

Lib2011-213

Incident date

November 2, 2011

Location

مصراتة, Misurata, Libya

Geolocation

32.374457, 15.087794 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One man died after being severely beaten while being held in custody by the Independence Brigade rebels in Tawrga’a on November 2, 2011 according to UN Report Source Page 82. A former Qadhafi soldier died on November 2, 2011 after being transferred to a hospital in Misrata. An initial autopsy report obtained by the victim’s family showed that he died as a result of a fracture in his skull.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Ground operation
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man1 other protected person)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Small arms and light weapons
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected target
    Libyan rebel forces

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Ground operation
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man1 other protected person)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Small arms and light weapons
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected target
    Libyan rebel forces

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

LQ055

Incident date

August 8, 2017

Location

درنة‎, port, Derna, Libya

Geolocation

32.763333, 22.654722 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

The LNA reportedly targeted a boat off the coast of Derna which it said was transporting fighters and weapons to the Shura Council.

According to the faction, the boat “carried terrorists, ammunition and weapons to terrorist gangs in the city of Derna.”
The fate of any civilian crew on board the vessel is presently unknown.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • 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 (7) [ collapse]

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
    Unknown
  • 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 (7) [ collapse]

Incident Code

LQ039

Incident date

January 16, 2017

Location

درنة‎, port, Derna, Libya

Geolocation

32.763333, 22.654722 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

An aircraft reportedly struck a boat allegedly belonging to the local militia Saraya Al-Dajjal off the coast of Derna.

The status of any civilian crew on board is currently unknown.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • 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 (3) [ collapse]

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
    Unknown
  • 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 (3) [ collapse]

Incident Code

LQ029

Incident date

April 13, 2016

Location

بنغازي‎, Benghazi, Libya

Geolocation

32.0802474, 18.7866211 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Subdistrict level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

LNA MiG-23s targeted two vessels near Benghazi according to the official Facebook page.

Another plane hit four reported ISIL targets near Garyounis in Qawarsheh and Garyounis.

The status of any civilian crew onboard the vessels remains unknown.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Suspected attacker
    Libyan National Army

Sources (6) [ collapse]

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
    Unknown
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Suspected attacker
    Libyan National Army

Sources (6) [ collapse]

Incident Code

LC201

Incident date

September 19, 2019

Location

مرزق القلعة, Murzuq Castle, Murzuq, Libya

Geolocation

25.919023, 13.923895 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Nearby landmark level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between three and four civilians were reportedly killed in an LNA or Emirati airstrike on Murzuq.

Ali642Souki said: “One of the drone’s missiles targeted one of the Tebu houses and hit a family consisting of a father and 2 of his children and his wife was visiting their neighbours and the father and his sons had died all together and here under the rubble of the house God and yes agent.”

Aldamoh_201112 tweeted: “4 civilians, including an elderly woman and 3 children, were martyred as a result of the UAE air raids on Al Qalaa residential neighbourhood.”

Libya Alhrar TV, however, said that a local official denied any civilian harm: “Municipal Council member Murzuq Muhammad Omar confirmed that Hifter has launched four airstrikes on the city’s Citadel (Al Qalaa) neighbourhood.

Omar explained to the free that the raids did not cause any casualties, pointing out that one of the strikes targeted an empty house of one of the displaced families from the neighbourhood, which displaced most of its residents after the escalation of clashes in the city.”

According to Al Motawaset, the LNA spokesperson Ahmed Al-Mesmari denied any LNA strikes on Murzuq on that day.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 4
  • (2–3 children0–1 women0–1 men)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Libyan National Army, United Arab Emirates Military

Sources (9) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (4) [ collapse]

  • Alleged aftermath of an airstrike on Murzuq on September 19th, 2019 (via Ali642Souki)
  • Alleged aftermath of an airstrike on Murzuq on September 19th, 2019 (via Ali642Souki)
  • Alleged aftermath of an airstrike on Murzuq on September 19th, 2019 (via Ali642Souki)
  • Alleged aftermath of an airstrike on Murzuq on September 19th, 2019 (via Ali642Souki)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the vicinity of Murzuq Castle (قلعة مرزق), for which the generic coordinates are: 25.919023, 13.923895. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Libyan National Army Assessment:

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

United Arab Emirates Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    United Arab Emirates Military
  • United Arab Emirates Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 4
  • (2–3 children0–1 women0–1 men)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Libyan National Army, United Arab Emirates Military

Sources (9) [ collapse]

Incident Code

LC218a

Incident date

October 13, 2019

Location

Unknown, Libya

Airwars assessment

One child was reportedly killed by a possible airstrike in Libya.

Sputnik said: “The day before [October 13th], there were reports that a 13-year-old boy was killed while he was at home.”

The source did not provide further details.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 child)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    Unknown

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

No geolocation information available.

Unknown Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Unknown
  • Unknown position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 child)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    Unknown

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

LC259

Incident date

December 24, 2019

Location

Fruit and Vegetable Market, Tripoli, Libya

Geolocation

32.812567, 13.375425 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Airstrikes most likely by the LNA or UAE in the vicinity of Bi’r Al Austa Milad road, Tajoura killed up to four civilians including two women and injured 12 other non combatants according to local reports. A vegetable market and civilian cars were amongst the objects struck.

Al Wasat News reported that “Today, Tuesday, the ambulance and emergency services announced the death of a citizen and the injury of another, in a shell that landed in Bi’r Al-Austa Milad area, Tajoura city. To that, the “‘volcano anger’ operation attributed the bombing to the General Command’s warplanes, but stated that the number of victims reached four people, including a child, as well as injuries and major damage to a number of cars, according to what came on its page on the Facebook site. It was not possible to independently verify this information.”

The Libya Observer claimed the attack was conducted by a UAE drone, noting that “Warlord Khalifa Haftar’s UAE-backed air force militia conducts a drone strike on a residential area in Bir Austa Milad district in Tajoura, eastern Tripoli, killing and wounding a number of civilians”. It also published a video in which witnesses said that both a marketplace and civilian cars were struck in the attack.

The Observer also later noted that “The spokesman for the Health Ministry, Fawzi Awnis, has confirmed that four people have been killed and ten others injured due airstrikes by warplanes backing up Khalifa Haftar’s forces on Tajoura in eastern Tripoli.”

218 TV said that three civilians had died with 12 injured: “The Center for Field Medicine and Support announced that 3 people were killed and more than 12 others wounded today, Tuesday, by shells falling in the Bir al-Osta Milad area, in Tajoura, east of Tripoli. The center said on its Facebook page, that one of his teams went to the area after receiving a report of the shells falling, to show the dead and wounded. The center pointed out that a family of a child and his parents had been transferred from the Kaddour clinic to a nearby clinic to complete their treatment. The Center stated that the shelling caused material losses, including wounding the homes of citizens living near the place, and several cars and a vegetable market.”

Al Ahrar initially reported four civilians killed, though later updated this to 12: “The Center for Field Medicine and Support confirms that the death toll of the Hafter Aviation Massacre in Tajoura has risen to 12 civilians”. However this appeared to conflate dead and injured, with FMSC naming three fatalities – two of them women – and twelve injuries.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Ahmed Ali Al-Farjani
Age unknown male injured
Haitham Ali Al-Farjani
Age unknown male injured

Family members (3)

Al-Siddiq Mohammed Al-Mazoughi
Age unknown male injured
Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Al-Mazoughi
Age unknown male injured
Fouad Abu Bakr Al-Mazoughi
Age unknown male injured

The victims were named as:

Mohamed Salem Abu Janah
Adult male killed
Fatima Ali Al-Tarshani
Adult female killed
Aisha Saad Abdullah
Adult female killed
Mohamed Mohamed Aburawi
Adult male injured
Moataz Abd Al Mawla Ma’al
Age unknown male injured
Ismail Ibrahim Faraj
Age unknown male injured
Mukhtar Muhammad Noah
Age unknown male injured
Shafiq Al-Taher
Age unknown male injured
Taha Ramadan Al-Maamari
Age unknown male injured
Khaled Ramadan Al-Rajhi
Age unknown male injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 4
  • (1 child2 women1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Suspected attackers
    Libyan National Army, United Arab Emirates Military

Sources (12) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (19) [ collapse]

  • Damage following a reportedly lethal December 24th 2019 LNA/ UAE strike on Bi’r Al Austa Milad, Tajoura’ (via al Wasat News)
  • Damage following a reportedly lethal December 24th 2019 LNA/ UAE strike on Bi’r Al Austa Milad, Tajoura’ (via al Wasat News)
  • 'Airstrike by Haftar air force kills civilians in Tajoura' December 24th 2019
  • A car destroyed in a reported LNA strike on Tajoura on December 24th 2019 (via Libya Observer)
  • Aftermath of a lethal air or drone strike which killed up to 4 civilians at Tajoura on December 24th 2019 (via 218 TV News)
  • Aftermath of a lethal air or drone strike which killed up to 4 civilians at Tajoura on December 24th 2019 (via 218 TV News)
  • Aftermath of a lethal air or drone strike which killed up to 4 civilians at Tajoura on December 24th 2019 (via 218 TV News)
  • Aftermath of a lethal air or drone strike which killed up to 4 civilians at Tajoura on December 24th 2019 (via 218 TV News)
  • Aftermath of a lethal air or drone strike which killed up to 4 civilians at Tajoura on December 24th 2019 (via 218 TV News)
  • Aftermath of a lethal air or drone strike which killed up to 4 civilians at Tajoura on December 24th 2019 (via 218 TV News)
  • Aftermath of a lethal air or drone strike which killed up to 4 civilians at Tajoura on December 24th 2019 (via 218 TV News)
  • Aftermath of a lethal air or drone strike which killed up to 4 civilians at Tajoura on December 24th 2019 (via 218 TV News)
  • Aftermath of a lethal air or drone strike which killed up to 4 civilians at Tajoura on December 24th 2019 (via al Ahrar News)
  • Aftermath of a lethal air or drone strike which killed up to 4 civilians at Tajoura on December 24th 2019 (via al Ahrar News)
  • Aftermath of a lethal air or drone strike which killed up to 4 civilians at Tajoura on December 24th 2019 (via al Ahrar News)
  • Aftermath of a lethal air or drone strike which killed up to 4 civilians at Tajoura on December 24th 2019 (via al Ahrar News)
  • Aftermath of a lethal air or drone strike which killed up to 4 civilians at Tajoura on December 24th 2019 (via al Ahrar News)
  • Aftermath of a lethal air or drone strike which killed up to 4 civilians at Tajoura on December 24th 2019 (via al Ahrar News)

Geolocation notes (5) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention a fruit and vegetable market being struck on Bir Al Austa Milad Road (بئر الاسطى ميلاد) in Tajoura (تاجوراء‎). Analyzing audio-visual material from sources, we have narrowed the location down to these exact coordinates: 32.812567, 13.375425.

  • Reports of the incident mention a fruit and vegetable market being struck on Bir Al Austa Milad Road (بئر الاسطى ميلاد) in Tajoura (تاجوراء‎).

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

  • Tagged audio-visual material from sources.

    Imagery:
    The Libya Observer

  • Tagged visual material from sources.

    Imagery:
    218 News

  • Tagged audio-visual material from sources.

    Imagery:
    The Libya Observer

  • Tagged audio-visual material from sources.

    Imagery:
    The Libya Observer

Libyan National Army Assessment:

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

United Arab Emirates Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    United Arab Emirates Military
  • United Arab Emirates Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 4
  • (1 child2 women1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Suspected attackers
    Libyan National Army, United Arab Emirates Military

Sources (12) [ collapse]