Research

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

Suggested Searches
Policy
All maps
Research on Syria
Research on U.S. forces
Research on the Gaza Strip
Collections
240 posts
25 Jan, 2024
Investigations
Libya

How we exposed secretive Danish role in Libyan civilian deaths

A behind-the-scenes look at the investigation that forced an official Danish military review
25 Jan, 2024
Investigations, Policy
Libya

Denmark admits role in NATO airstrikes on Libya that killed 14 civilians in 2011

Exposing the Danish military's role in 2011 Libya airstrikes that killed 14 civilians
18 Mar, 2021
Investigations
Libya

Ten years after the Libyan revolution, victims wait for justice

NATO members still refuse to discuss potential civilian harm from their strikes a decade after intervening against Gaddafi.
2 Mar, 2021
Report

Annual report – 2020/21

Tracking by Airwars across multiple conflicts during 2020 showed that the number of locally reported civilian deaths from the use of explosive weapons was down by two thirds compared to the previous year. Of these fatalities, around half were in the first two months of 2020. This suggested a possible ‘Covid effect’ – a significant […]
5 Feb, 2021
Update
Libya

Libyan transitional government elected in bid to pave way for peace process

Libya’s rival political factions agreed to form a transitional government on February 5th, further cementing a June ceasefire meant to end the country’s civil war. After a lengthy UN-mediated process, the 73 delegates of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) voted for Mohammad Menfi as head of the Presidency Council; Abdul Hamid Dbeibah as Prime […]
15 Jan, 2021
Update
Libya

Airwars launches mapping of every known airstrike in Libya since 2012

In it latest data project, Airwars has published comprehensive mapping of more than 5,400 air and artillery strikes in Libya since 2012. The new data covers all known locally-reported strikes to date, conducted by all parties to an on-and-off civil war that is currently on pause, after last year’s UN-brokered ceasefire deal. A team of […]
23 Oct, 2020
Update
Libya

Libya’s rival governments agree surprise ceasefire deal

The two most important parties to the conflict in Libya, the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA), agreed on October 23rd to an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations. The landmark deal – which took many Libya analysts by surprise – could possibly […]
14 Sep, 2020
Research
Libya

The siege of Tripoli: visualising a year of violence

Two months after the brutal siege of Libya’s capital ended, new interactive Airwars mapping shows the impact of 14 months of fighting between two rival governments on the city’s beleaguered civilians. Airwars has visualised every allegation of civilian harm from air and artillery strikes during the period of war in and around Tripoli between April […]
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. […]
8 Jun, 2020
Update
Libya

In lightning advance, GNA reverses 14 months of Haftar’s Libya gains

In an extraordinary reversal, the opposition Libyan National Army (LNA) – believed until recently to be the dominant military power in Libya today – has been routed from much of its western territory in just a few weeks. Retreating LNA forces abandoned tanks, attack helicopters and other advanced weaponry as they fled the Government of […]
6 Apr, 2020
Research
Libya

Libya: a year of living dangerously

Tripoli, the capital of Libya, has entered its second year of being under siege, part of the most significant upsurge in violence in the country’s intermittent civil war since 2012. Hundreds of civilians have so far died – with little effort either domestically or internationally to bring the fighting to an end. While most of […]
24 Mar, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – January 2020

January 2020 saw a 15% rise in Russia civilian harm events as the regime and its ally pounded rebel-held territory in Idlib and Aleppo.
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 […]
11 Feb, 2020
Report

Annual report – 2019/20

Civilian deaths from Russian actions in Syria dominated Airwars monitoring following the defeat of ISIS in March 2019.
6 Feb, 2020
Policy
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria

Dutch F-16 pilots break their silence on airstrikes and civilian harm

  “After a few months, it turned out that it had indeed been a wrong target. An error had been made in the intelligence process. Instead of being an ISIS target, it turned out to just be a house. A mix-up in targets. You think: shit, it’s not possible, is it? I felt sick when […]
23 Dec, 2019
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – November 2019

November 2019 saw a quadrupling in civilian harm claims against Russia and the regime in Syria
19 Dec, 2019
Update
Iraq, Syria

Dutch defence ministry publishes incorrect statement on civilian deaths, hours before key parliamentary debate

The Netherlands Ministry of Defence (Defensie) has provided an inaccurate statement to both MPs and the media, Airwars analysis indicates – on the eve of a critical parliamentary debate on the deaths of scores of civilians in Iraq which had resulted from a Dutch airstrike in 2015. Credible reports at the time had indicated that […]
11 Dec, 2019
Update

Airwars launches new fundraising appeal

Airwars is launching its first public fundraising appeal in over two years as 2019 draws to a close – hoping to raise at least £20,000 during December for vital work tracking civilian harm in multiple wars. Founded in 2014, Airwars is now monitoring civilian harm across six conflicts, and has recorded more than 51,000 locally […]
29 Nov, 2019
Policy
Iraq

Dutch Ministry of Defence promises significant transparency changes

The Dutch government is promising to introduce transparency improvements for conflict-related civilian harm resulting from its military actions. The announcement came on November 25th, in the wake of an ongoing national scandal, following the withholding for more than four years of details of Dutch involvement in an airstrike on Hawijah, Iraq, on the night of […]
25 Nov, 2019
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – September 2019

During September 2019 reported civilian harm from military actions was down in both Syria and Libya.
11 Nov, 2019
Update

Airwars marks five years of tracking civilian harm

November 11th 2019 marks the fifth anniversary of Airwars – the international not for profit which monitors civilian harm on the battlefield, and seeks to reduce conflict casualty numbers. November 11th is recognised globally, as Armistice Day, Remembrance Day and Veterans Day. It was also the date on which the name Airwars was registered by […]
22 Oct, 2019
Update
Iraq

Investigation accuses Dutch military of involvement in 2015 Iraq airstrike which led to deaths of 70 civilians

On Friday October 18th, Dutch news organisations NRC and NOS published a story in which they accused the Dutch military of being responsible for a 2015 airstrike on an ISIS weapon storage facility in the city of Hawijah, Iraq, that led to the deaths of at least 70 civilians. The Dutch Ministry of Defence has […]
30 Sep, 2019
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – August 2019

More than 200 civilians were locally alleged killed by Russia in Syria during August - with concerns too about Coalition counter terror raids.
25 Sep, 2019
Update
Libya

Increasing foreign role risks spiralling Libya conflict out of control

Foreign powers are increasingly being drawn into Libya’s civil war – with lethal air strikes reportedly carried out by at least two other nations, and with Libya’s two rival governments both hiring foreign mercenary pilots, and receiving shipments of weapons from abroad. Experts are warning that an internationalising of the conflict may further destabilize the […]
30 Aug, 2019
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – July 2019

As many as 432 civilians were claimed killed by Russian forces in Syria during July - as the bombardment of Idlib and Hama governorates intensified.
1 Aug, 2019
Research

Airwars six monthly assessment: January-June 2019

The first six months of 2019 saw at least 800 civilians locally alleged killed by Russian and US-led Coalition forces in Syria - while Libya's civil war continued to escalate.
28 Jun, 2019
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – May 2019

Allegations of civilian harm against Moscow were up 300% during May - as Idlib came under fierce attack from the Assad government and its Russian allies.
30 May, 2019
Research

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 […]
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 […]
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 […]