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All major publications from Airwars’ documentation, research, investigations and policy teams

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1 Aug, 2024
Update
Syria

New Airwars and White Helmets project launched

Interactive map documents Syrian earthquake rescue operations alongside emergency airstrike response
28 Sep, 2022
Visualisation
Syria

Reported civilian deaths from Russian Military strikes in Syria

Civilian deaths peak in 2017
6 Sep, 2022
Visualisation
Syria

Russian Military in Syria Casualty Map

Russia began its military engagement in Syria in support of the Assad government on September 30th 2015, in a campaign dominated by intense airstrikes, and later also by artillery actions. While Moscow initially claimed to be targeting so-called Islamic State, it soon became clear that rebel-held areas of Syria were its main focus. The campaign […]
13 Jun, 2022
Investigations
Syria

A year on, Airwars investigation into Afrin hospital attack reveals crucial details

A horrifying attack on a hospital in the Syrian city of Afrin left 19 people dead – and the perpetrators are still unknown.
7 Apr, 2022
Policy
Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Palestinian territories, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen

Five takeaways from the first day of EWIPA negotiations

The shadow of the Ukraine conflict loomed large over the first day of the informal UN-backed consultations on a political declaration on restricting the use of wide area effect explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA), currently underway in Geneva. Delegates from more than 65 nations have gathered to fine tune the language of the political […]
24 Mar, 2022
Research
Syria

Patterns of civilian harm from Russia’s military actions in Syria (2015-2022)

Since the beginning of Russia’s military intervention in Syria in 2015, Airwars has tracked, documented and preserved every local allegation of civilian harm resulting from Russian actions – over 4,000 individual incidents from 61,915 unique sources. We have collected 11,181 names of civilians reported killed, and identified 1,383 family members killed in the same incidents. […]
22 Mar, 2022
Investigations, Policy
Syria, Ukraine

How Russia is using tactics from the Syrian playbook in Ukraine

Entire settlements reduced to rubble, attacks on civilian targets and the bombing of refugee exit routes were all part of Moscow’s brutal Syria campaign
22 Feb, 2022
Policy
Syria

Why a Russian war in Ukraine would be particularly deadly for civilians

On February 21st Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he would recognise the independence of two separatist regions inside Ukraine, with Russian troops reportedly moving there – steps widely seen as edging towards a full conflict. If Russia does, as has been predicted, invade part or all of Ukraine in the coming days, there are reasons […]
30 Sep, 2021
Research
Syria

After six years of Russian airstrikes in Syria, still no accountability for civilian deaths

To mark the sixth anniversary of Russia’s military intervention in Syria, Airwars is highlighting just five of the countless civilian harm events that characterise Russian involvement in the conflict. Overall since 2015, we have identified 4,615 incidents where Russia is alleged to have caused civilian deaths or injuries. This September alone, we estimate that ten […]
30 Sep, 2020
Update
Syria

Syria’s civilians pay high price for years of foreign military interventions

In 1996, the US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was asked by reporter Lesley Stahl about sanctions against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq: “We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?” Stahl asked. The Secretary of State responded: […]
9 Jul, 2020
Update
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Türkiye, Yemen

New UN report insists Soleimani assassination by US was ‘unlawful’

The US assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in Baghdad in January 2020, was unlawful on several counts, according to a new report submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council by its expert on extrajudicial killings. Dr Agnes Callamard, the current UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Executions, […]
22 Jun, 2020
Update
Syria

Ongoing ceasefire between Russia and Turkey brings respite for Syrian civilians

Civilians are continuing to benefit from a months-long ceasefire in northern Syria, which has seen casualty numbers sharply fall to levels last seen in the early months of the civil war. Experts remain divided however, on how long this pause in fighting will last – and what it means for Syria and its divided people. […]
26 May, 2020
Update
Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria

Marking UN Protection of Civilians Week, Airwars and Rectangle livecast names of thousands harmed in recent wars

Airwars and design partners Rectangle are commemorating those civilians killed and injured in conflicts, by livestreaming over 24 hours the names of 8,337 civilian casualties the international monitor has documented in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Somalia in recent years. The digital event marks the occasion of the UN’s 2020 Protection of Civilians Week. Every name […]
11 Feb, 2020
Policy
Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Türkiye, Yemen

Airwars annual report: over 2,200 civilians claimed killed in 2019

Airwars research shows that at least 2,214 civilians were locally alleged killed by international military actions across Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Somalia during 2019 – a 42% decrease in minimum claimed deaths on the previous year. This sharp fall was largely because deaths from reported US-led Coalition actions plummeted following the territorial defeat of ISIS […]
5 Feb, 2019
Update
Iraq, Syria

New Airwars project to examine US media coverage of civilian harm in war against ISIS

Hundreds of journalists will be canvassed for their views on recent conflict casualty reporting by the US media as part of a major new project by Airwars. The six month study—funded by the Reva and David Logan Foundation in the US, and the J Leon Philanthropy Council in the UK—aims to help assess and improve […]
10 Sep, 2018
Update
Syria

Russia’s three years of war in Syria brings victory close for regime

Moscow's intervention in Syria - its most successful military adventure in decades - looks poised to restore the Assad government. Thousands of civilians have died in the process.
7 Mar, 2018
Update
Iraq, Syria

UN investigators accuse the US-led Coalition and Russia of likely violating laws of war in Syria

In 2015, the UN Commission said it wouldn't investigate foreign airstrikes in Syria. Now it is citing Security Council members for unlawful strikes.
2 Mar, 2018
Update
Syria

Civilian casualties from alleged Russian airstrikes reach record levels

Thirty months into its Syria campaign, Russia is reportedly killing more civilians than ever
23 Sep, 2017
Update
Syria

Russia blamed for sharp rise in civilian deaths during battle for Deir Ezzor

In the race to capture ISIS territory, hundreds of civilians have been reported killed by airstrikes in Deir Ezzor governorate in the past two weeks. Russia, the regime and Coalition are all active in the area.
5 May, 2017
Update
Iraq, Syria

1,000 days of war: Shihab’s story – the terror of bombardment

Airwars researcher Shihab Halep was bombed out of his Aleppo home by the regime. He shares his harrowing story of what it is like to flee under bombardment.
5 May, 2017
Update
Iraq, Syria

1,000 days of war: the geolocation challenge

A new analysis of Coalition reports shows that strike locations may be as many as 90 kilometers or more from where they are listed — a serious concern for investigators.
4 May, 2017
Update
Iraq, Syria

1,000 days of war: A tale of two bombed cities

Both Aleppo and Raqqa have seen heavy assaults backed by international airpower in recent months. So why is media coverage so different for these two bombed cities?
26 Apr, 2017
Update
Syria

Russian airstrikes and civilian deaths in Syria are rising fast

At least 120 Russian casualty events have already been alleged for April - a steep rise with grim implications for Syria's civilians