Pentagon concedes 211 more civilian deaths across four war zones in latest report to Congress
The Department of Defense (DoD) informed Congress on May 6th that US forces in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and Somalia had between them killed at least 132 civilians and injured 91 more during 2019. The Pentagon also reported a further 79 historical deaths from its actions in Syria and Iraq during 2017-18. The 22-page Annual Report
Airwars monthly assessment – March 2020
Major Conflict Monitoring Putin-Erdogan ceasefire brings Russia’s air campaign on Idlib to a temporary halt As the COVID-19 pandemic morphed into the most widespread global public health crisis in a century, there were growing calls for an end to conflicts around the world in order to give public authorities the respite needed to manage the
Airwars monthly assessment – February 2020
Major Conflict Monitoring Russia bombardment intensifies as Syrian regime pushes deeper into Idlib The month of February saw Russian airstrikes again ravage northwestern Syria, as the Syrian Regime continued its offensive in the governorates of Idlib and western Aleppo. For the first half of the month, Russia’s air campaign focused heavily on western Aleppo as
Airwars monthly assessment – January 2020
Major conflict monitoring Russia and the Assad regime in Syria: civilians in Aleppo governorate pounded During January, Russia continued to bombard Idlib in support of the Assad government’s ongoing offensive. From the third week of the month, Russia’s air campaign also focused significantly on rebel-held areas of western Aleppo – resulting in further civilian harm.
Annual report for 2019
Airwars research showed 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
Airwars monthly assessment – November 2019
Major conflict monitoring Russia and the Assad regime in Syria: civilian harm events quadruple November saw an alarming escalation in reported harm from Russia’s ongoing Idlib campaign, which once more left noncombatants trapped on the ground and in great peril. Overall, Airwars researchers tracked 77 locally claimed civilian harm events allegedly carried out by Moscow
Airwars monthly assessment – October 2019
Major conflict monitoring Turkey in Syria: new front sees civilians in peril Civilians trapped in northeastern Syria faced renewed danger in October, with the start of ‘Operation Peace Spring’, conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and its proxy the Syrian National Army (SNA), against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the YPG in northeastern
Airwars monthly assessment – September 2019
Major conflict monitoring Libya Libya witnessed an uptick of airstrikes in September as the Libyan National Army (LNA) air force, back by the United Arab Emirates, increased its campaign to seize areas of the country still outside its control. Local sources claimed 230 air and artillery strikes, of which 141 were either conducted by the
Airwars monthly assessment – August 2019
Major conflict monitoring Russia and the Assad regime in Syria As the Russian-backed regime offensive against rebels in Idlib and Hama continued during August, civilians trapped in these devastated governorates continued to pay a heavy price for the Assad government’s gains. Nevertheless, the month saw a 10% fall in civilian casualty events linked to Russia
Airwars monthly assessment – July 2019
Major conflict monitoring Russia and the Assad regime in Syria July was another terrible month for civilians trapped in Idlib and Hama governorates, as the Russian-backed Assad offensive continued to intensify. In total, Airwars tracked 121 separate alleged civilian harm incidents, three more than in June. Some 82% of these events were in Idlib governorate
Airwars six monthly assessment: January-June 2019
Six monthly update The first half of 2019 saw the defeat of ISIS as a territorial entity in Syria by the US-led Coalition, though the cost to civilians trapped in Deir Ezzor governorate was significant. Airwars research indicates that civilian deaths likely caused by Coalition strikes rose by 34% between January and June on the
News In Brief: US media coverage of civilian harm in the war against ISIS
Reporters at US media outlets strongly believe that civilian harm should be a central component of broader war coverage. Yet non combatant casualties from US airstrikes were often poorly covered during the conflict against so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. These are some of the key findings of a new report by Airwars published
Airwars monthly assessment – May 2019
Major conflict monitoring Russia in Syria During May Syrian government forces, supported by Russia, continued to pound rebels in Idlib – leaving in tatters an earlier ceasefire deal brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran. Many civilians trapped on the ground faced a horrifying ordeal, with Airwars tracking a very significant increase in civilian casualty incidents
Airwars monthly assessment – April 2019
Following the capture of Al Baghouz and the defeat of ISIS as a territorial entity on March 23rd, US-led Coalition air and artillery strikes in Syria effectively stopped, while actions in Iraq have also heavily declined in recent months. Consequently, Airwars has not tracked a civilian casualty event in Syria assessed as likely caused by
Airwars monthly assessment – March 2019
Conflict monitoring After 56 months of war, March finally saw the defeat of ISIS as a territorial entity when the town of Al Baghouz in Deir Ezzor governorate fell to Coalition-backed Syrian Democratic Forces on March 23rd. However, this final intense month of fighting came at what appeared to be significant cost to civilians on
Airwars monthtly assessment – February 2019
Conflict monitoring During February, civilian harm claims against the US-led Coalition in Syria continued to be a major problem. The month saw several alarming large-scale casualty incidents in the town of Baghouz – the last territorial holdout in Syria for so-called Islamic State (ISIS) – meaning that the likely death toll from Coalition actions in
Airwars interim better practice recommendations in response to US military assessments of civilian harm
Responding to an ongoing US Department of Defense review process on civilian harm mitigation, Airwars submitted a short interim briefing paper outlining 25 better practice recommendations. These were based primarily on our granular engagement with civilian casualty assessment cells within the US military over several years. Our recommendations ranged from the US military ensuring wherever
Airwars monthly assessment – January 2019
Conflict monitoring In January 2019, the noose further tightened around ISIS in the last remaining scraps of territory it held in Syria’s Deir Ezzor governorate. By February 5th, there were an it was claimewd as few as 1,000 fighters in ISIS’s stronghold within a 20-sqaure-mile area near the southern Euphrates Rivers and the Iraqi border,
Airwars annual assessment 2018
Despite significant falls in both strike numbers and reported casualties, civilians still remained at risk in the three conflict-affected nations presently monitored by Airwars. In total, as many as 5,947 non combatants were locally alleged killed by international military actions across Syria, Iraq and Libya during 2018. In Libya reported airstrikes were down by a
Airwars monthly assessment – November 2018
Conflict monitoring In November, Airwars tracked the highest reported civilian death toll from alleged Coalition actions since the fall of Raqqa in October 2017. As the terrorist group clung on to a handful of villages in Deir Ezzor and the Hajin campaign rolled into its third month, Coalition actions rose by 32% on October with
Airwars monthly assessment – October 2018
Conflict monitoring Airwars tracked no locally reported claims of civilian harm in Syria from Russian actions during October – the first such month since Moscow first intervened three years previously. US-led Coalition strikes against ISIS continued however, with a significant and troubling rise in reported civilian harm in eastern Syria. October saw a near tripling
Airwars monthly assessment – September 2018
Conflict monitoring In September 2018, civilian harm remained at low levels from both international and domestic belligerents in the three conflict areas which Airwars presently monitors. Eight civilian harm events were attributed the US-led Coalition in Syria – the same number as in the previous month. While events reportedly involving Russia in Syria rose steeply,
Airwars monthly assessment: August 2018
Reported civilian harm in August from both Russian and Coalition actions were at their lowest levels for years, Airwars monitoring shows.
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.
Airwars monthly assessment: July 2018
Overall, more than 3,700 civilians have been alleged killed in international military actions in Syria so far this year.
Airwars six monthly assessment: January-June 2018
Reported civilian deaths from Russian actions were up by a third in Syria during the first six months of 2018. While claims against the Coalition were sharply down, several hundred civilians were still likely killed by the US-led alliance.
Airwars monthly assessment: May 2018
Coalition-attributed civilian casualties in Syria were up during May, while those blamed on Russia were sharply down.
Airwars monthly assessment: April 2018
Civilian fatalities from international military actions in both Iraq and Syria were at record low levels during April.
Refusal by The Netherlands Defence Ministry to identify specific civilian harm events impedes natural justice, and runs counter to actions by other Coalition allies
Our third briefing paper for Dutch MPs was issued after the Netherlands conceded civilian harm in Iraq in up to three incidents between 2014 and 2016 – but refused to say where or when. The paper noted that without more detail, affected Iraqis would never know that Dutch aircraft were responsible for their loved ones being
Death in the City – High levels of civilian harm in modern urban warfare resulting from significant explosive weapons use
In response to requests for written submissions to an inquiry by the UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group on Explosive Threats, this Airwars paper examined recent civilian harm reporting from Mosul, Raqqa, Aleppo and Ghouta – arguing that intensity of bombardment and population desnity were the primary drivers of negative outcomes for non combatants, rather than