Research

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

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10 May, 2019
Research

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 […]
2 May, 2019
Update
Afghanistan, Somalia

Pentagon report: 120 civilians killed in operations abroad

American military operations killed 120 civilians in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Somalia last year, according to a report released by the Pentagon today. The report, mandated by Congress, contains a detailed breakdown of the incidents that led to the civilian casualties, including where and when these took place. This differs from last year’s release which […]
1 May, 2019
Update
Iraq, Syria

France’s war without accountability

On May 16th 2017, Sajid Ahmed Sajid and his brother Amer Ahmad Sajid, two men in their fifties and each with a salt and pepper beard, were killed by a bomb that struck their house in the well-to-do neighbourhood of Al-Najjar in West Mosul, according to locals and local media. The Coalition’s public account of […]
25 Apr, 2019
Update
Iraq, Syria

At least 1,600 civilians died in US-led Coalition actions at Raqqa, major new study finds

A major new study by Amnesty International and Airwars has concluded that at least 1,600 civilians died in Coalition strikes on the city of Raqqa in 2017 during the battle to evict so-called Islamic State – ten times the number of fatalities so far conceded by the US-led alliance, which had admitted 159 deaths to […]
24 Apr, 2019
Update

New Reporting Frontiers: OSI, Airstrikes and Civilian Harm

Airwars Director Chris Woods is presenting at the Frontline Club talk ‘New Reporting Frontiers: OSI, Airstrikes and Civilian Harm’ alongside with world’s leading Open Source Investigations teams to discuss the groundbreaking techniques being used to support and strengthen reporting of civilian harm in conflicts worldwide. From the Skripal poisoning to the Battle of Mosul, Open […]
15 Apr, 2019
Update
Libya

Civilians in peril as rival air forces target Tripoli

A major offensive on the Libyan capital Tripoli by Marshal Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) has already seen dozens of civilians locally reported killed – with the United Nations warning that “Civilian casualties and displacement are expected to increase further given the continued use of air strikes and heavy artillery.” Haftar’s assault on Tripoli – […]
10 Apr, 2019
Update
Iraq, Libya, Syria

Airwars expands monitoring to include secretive US campaigns in Somalia, Yemen and Pakistan

Airwars has announced that in partnership with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, it will also now be monitoring airstrikes and reported civilian harm from secretive US campaigns in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, in addition to its current portfolio of major conflicts. The US counter terrorism campaigns – conducted by the CIA and US Special Forces […]
8 Apr, 2019
Research

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 […]
19 Mar, 2019
Report

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 […]
8 Mar, 2019
Update

Germany’s involvement in the Anti-IS Coalition: the air strike on Al-Badhiya IDP-Shelter in Syria

Maike Awater, Airwars’ Netherland based Advocacy Officer and Conflict Researcher presents at a panel discussion commemorating the second anniversary of the Al-Badhiya air strike’s in Syria. The most worst known air strike of the Anti-IS Coalition with over 150 civilian casualties took place on 20 March 2017 when it targeted a shelter for internally displaced […]
4 Mar, 2019
Update

The human cost of airstrikes: are we counting civilian deaths?

Airwars Director Chris Woods is presenting at the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Drones session ‘The human cost of airstrikes: are we counting civilian deaths?’ The Ministry of Defence has been the second-largest contributor to the anti-ISIS Coalition. However, in over 1900 strikes in Iraq and Syria from 2014-2018, it has reported only one civilian […]
4 Mar, 2019
Research

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, […]
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 […]
31 Jan, 2019
Research

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 […]
10 Jan, 2019
Update
Iraq, Syria

Time for proper accountability now that Dutch aircraft and military personnel are home

On December 31st 2018, the participation of Netherlands F-16s in the international fight against so-called Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria came to an agreed end, after almost four years of airstrikes. Despite conducting precision airstrikes, the Coalition has not always been successful in preventing civilian casualties – with the alliance overall admitting at […]
9 Jan, 2019
Update

Global Islamist Terrorism: Oral Evidence Session at Defence Select Committee

Airwars’ Director Chris Woods is presenting at Oral Evidence Session, organised by  UK Parliament’s Defence Select Committee, on the theme of UK actions in the war against so-called Islamic State, and the broader issue of civilian harm, based on the recently published report. Airwars continues to challenge the Ministry of Defence over its claims of no civilian […]
9 Jan, 2019
Update

Armed drones at Sigonella: Legal issues and tensions between right to life protection, transparency obligations and military strategy

Airwars will be participating in the conference organised by ECCHR to outline civilian harm caused by the US in Libya from airstrikes which supposedly take off from Sigonella, Italy. Both Airwars and New America will present findings from their joint Libya project, detailing incidents of civilian harm in the North African country and providing a larger perspective […]
4 Jan, 2019
Research

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 […]
13 Dec, 2018
Update

ICRC Protection Reference Group meeting

Airwars is participating in a gathering of humanitarian practitioners and experts to discuss and reflect upon work undertaken in relation to conflict-related deaths and the significant push behind transparency and accountability with regard to monitoring and reporting on civilian casualties and damage to essential infrastructure. The event also addresses perceived responsibility for the humanitarian consequences […]
11 Dec, 2018
Update

ICRC Symposium on Digital Risks in Situations of Armed Conflict

Together with a wide range of partners Airwars is participating in a discussion to help develop a deeper understanding about the relationship between digital risk and the protection of individuals and communities affected by situations of armed conflict – and to identify areas for cooperative action to enable humanitarian actors and their partners to respond more […]
6 Dec, 2018
Update

Military reports – December 2018

Monthly summary: Below are all known published daily Coalition military reports relating to the air war against so called Islamic State or Daesh in Iraq and Syria for December 2018. We have also included relevant video and photo releases. Beginning in June 2018, the Coalition began issuing once weekly reports, issued each Monday for the previous […]
5 Dec, 2018
Update
Libya

US strike kills up to eleven civilians in Libya’s south, locals say

Local reports indicate that up to eleven civilians have been killed in a US precision strike near Al Uwaynat, in the extreme south of Libya close to the Algerian border on November 29th. The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) has confirmed conducting the strike, originally stating that it had targeted fighters from a regional Al […]
30 Nov, 2018
Research

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 […]
30 Nov, 2018
Update

Airwars monthly assessment – October 2018

Reported civilian harm from Coalition actions reaches highest level since the battle of Raqqa - while for the first time Airwars monitored no civilian casualty claims from Russian strikes.
29 Nov, 2018
Update

ARRCs Article 5 Outreach Forum

Airwars’ Deputy Director, Dmytro Chupryna, is participating in a meeting which brings together civil and military actors  to explore how they might engage in a conflict setting; to discuss if there is a common understanding of Military and Civilian taxonomies; and to examine the relationship constraints and opportunities of command, control communication, co-ordination and collaboration.
16 Nov, 2018
Update

The Erosion of the Civilian

Chris Woods, Airwars’ Director is presenting on the theme ‘Invisible Victims: Europe’s failure to concede battlefield civilian harm’ at the symposium, which brings together scholars from different disciplines; human rights and humanitarian experts; and investigative reporters in order to examine the precarious status of civilians and other protected persons in the midst of war.
7 Nov, 2018
Research

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, […]
7 Nov, 2018
Update

Airwars monthly assessment – September 2018

Up to 45 civilians were locally alleged killed by Russian airstrikes in Syria during September - with as many as 17 non combatants also claimed killed by US-led Coalition actions.
6 Nov, 2018
Update

Civilian casualties by coalition airstrikes in Iraq – Transparency and state responsibility

Our Netherlands based Advocacy Officer and Conflict Researcher is presenting at the round-table, organised by War Reparation Centre and the University of Amsterdam. The key area for discussion is the legal proceedings to obtain information from members of the Coalition on bombardments on Iraq.
6 Nov, 2018
Update

Military reports – November 2018

Monthly summary: Below are all known published daily Coalition military reports relating to the air war against so called Islamic State or Daesh in Iraq and Syria for November 2018. We have also included relevant video and photo releases. Beginning in June 2018, the Coalition began issuing once weekly reports, issued each Monday for the previous […]