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
307 posts
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.
24 Dec, 2019
Update
Syria

More than 220 civilians likely killed in Turkish invasion of northern Syria

Eleven weeks on from the October 9th launch of a Turkish-led offensive against Kurds in northern Syria, known as ‘Operation Peace Spring’, fighting continues to rage with civilians still encountering significant violence. Since the beginning of the latest clashes, Airwars researchers have overall monitored between 244 and 312 reported civilian deaths resulting from air, artillery […]
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
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 […]
18 Oct, 2019
Update
Syria, Türkiye

Civilians severely at risk from Turkish invasion of Northern Syria

Airwars monitors locally reported civilian harm from all Turkish air and artillery strikes in Iraq and Syria, as well as from Kurdish counterfire actions. Our database can be found here. More than 120 civilian deaths have been locally alleged in eight days of fighting in northern Syria to October 16th, following a Turkish-led offensive, ‘Operation […]
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.
7 Aug, 2019
Update
Iraq, Syria

Five years of war and ISIS is defeated as a territorial entity – but civilian deaths remain largely uncounted

The fifth anniversary of the international war against so-called Islamic State has seen the total defeat of the terrorist group as a territorial entity in both Iraq and Syria. Now degraded to insurgency, the US and its allies try to contain the jihadist organisation. However, after five years of fighting the cost to civilians on […]
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.
16 Jul, 2019
Update
Iraq, Syria

New Airwars study finds major challenges in US media coverage of civilian harm

Despite a significant majority of almost 100 surveyed journalists believing that the reporting of civilian casualties remains critical to broader war coverage, major US news organisations have too often failed properly to report on the issue during the five year conflict against so-called Islamic State. That’s the key finding of a major new Airwars study […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.
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.
18 Oct, 2018
Research

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.
18 Oct, 2018
Update

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.
24 Sep, 2018
Update

Report: Airwars urges UK to improve accountability for civilian harm in Battles of Mosul and Raqqa

Despite being the most transparent among anti-ISIS Coalition members, non-admission of urban civilian casualties by UK is deemed unrealistic in new parliamentary report.
24 Sep, 2018
Update
Iraq, Syria

Report: Airwars urges UK to improve accountability for civilian harm in Battles of Mosul and Raqqa

Despite being the most transparent among anti-ISIS Coalition members, non-admission of urban civilian casualties by UK is deemed unrealistic in new parliamentary report.