Credibility Gap – UK civilian harm assessments for the battles of Mosul and Raqqa

As part of its Inquiry into British military actions at Mosul and Raqqa, the UK Parliament’s Defence Select Committee issued a request for submissions from interested parties. Along with several other NGOs, Airwars submitted a detailed report looking into UK actions in the war against so-called Islamic State, and the broader issue of civilian harm.

The full version of the Airwars report – including new modellling of the battles for Raqqa and Mosul – is published here. A shorter version of the report is also available via the Select Committee.

While commending the UK for its general transparency, Airwars challenged the Ministry of Defence over its claims of no civilian harm from UK actions in either city – despite more than 1,000 targets reportedly being struck. Our report, Credibility Gap, contains a number of recommendations to help improve UK monitoring and reporting opf civilian harm in future conflicts.