Research

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

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29 posts
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.
10 May, 2022
Update
Iraq, Israel, Libya, Pakistan, Palestinian territories, Syria, Türkiye, Yemen

Civilian harm fell in 2021, Airwars annual report finds

Civilian harm dropped across most of the major conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa in 2021, Airwars’ annual report has found. The number of allegations of civilians killed by nearly all belligerents monitored by Airwars fell in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, though there was an escalation in the Israel-Palestinian conflict which […]
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 […]
25 Feb, 2021
Research
Iraq, Türkiye

Renewed military campaign in northern Iraq against PKK sees deaths of 13 Turkish captives

A renewed campaign by Turkey in mid February against a Kurdish militant faction – which has seen Turkish troops pushing deeper than ever before into northern Iraq – also saw the deaths of thirteen Turkish civilian and military captives in a highly controversial attack, Airwars monitoring of the region shows. On February 10th, the Turkish […]
22 Dec, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – November 2020

Major Conflict Monitoring Civilian harm from foreign military action in all tracked conflicts have remained low, with little change observed in November compared to previous months. In Syria, Russian actions have decreased from October. It has also been a quieter month for US-led actions in Syria, although reports of US-led strikes on Iranian forces in […]
7 Dec, 2020
Research

Airwars Bi-monthly assessment – September & October 2020

Major Conflict Monitoring The months of September and October 2020 saw a flurry of activity from Airwars. Starting with the launch of new interactive mapping of reported civilian harm during the recent siege of Tripoli; through to our major joint report with PAX examining the civilian impact of the use of explosive weapons in cities; […]
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 […]
29 Sep, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – August 2020

Major Conflict Monitoring While civilian harm from foreign actions in the conflicts monitored by Airwars mostly decreased during August, Ankara’s continuing air and ground campaign against Kurdish militants led to the worst reported civilian harm tally in northern Iraq from Turkish action since 2015. Civilian harm incidents involving Russia in Syria (already at a low […]
25 Aug, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – July 2020

Major Conflict Monitoring July 2020 saw a continuation of a trend observed the month before, with foreign action in Syria slowly increasing, particularly by Russia. Meanwhile, the US-led Coalition continued its operations against both ISIS and Iranian-backed groups in Syria, though at a seemingly lower intensity. In Iraq, ISIS’s insurgency had slightly increased in tempo, […]
5 Aug, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – June 2020

Major Conflict Monitoring June 2020 saw a slight resurgence in foreign action in Syria, with sporadic Russian strikes being reported in Idlib; and with the US-led Coalition continuing its operations against Iranian-backed groups in Syria. In Iraq, ISIS’s insurgency has decreased significantly as Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) have increased the tempo of their own Counter-Terrorism […]
29 Jun, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – May 2020

The ceasefire in Idlib between Russia and Turkey has continued to hold for the most part. But Libya's conflict continues to rage, with the Turkish-backed GNA gaining the upper hand in recent advances.
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 […]
5 Jun, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – April 2020

Conflict in Libya ramps up as sense of calm presides over Syria and Iraq.
5 May, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – March 2020

Fighting grinds to a halt in Idlib following ceasefire, but civilian harm incidents reported in other parts of Syria, Libya and Somalia.
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 […]
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
10 Dec, 2019
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – October 2019

More than 200 civilians were locally alleged killed by Turkish and Kurdish military actions in Syria during October. Civilian deaths were also significantly up in Libya.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
29 Jan, 2018
Update

Turkish assault on Syria’s Afrin imperils civilians

Several dozen civilians have already been killed in fierce fighting at Afrin - with fears of a heavier toll ahead.
29 Jan, 2018
Update
Syria

Turkish assault on Syria’s Afrin imperils civilians

Several dozen civilians have already been killed in fierce fighting at Afrin - with fears of a heavier toll ahead.
29 Jan, 2018
Update

Reported civilian casualties from Turkish military actions in Iraq and Syria: 2018

New Airwars monitoring project tracks civilian harm from Turkish military actions - as well as reported casualties from Kurdish counterfire
24 Feb, 2017
Update

Hundreds of civilians killed in Turkish capture of al-Bab, as Ankara eyes Kurdish-held Manbij

UN says at least 300 civilians died in Turkey's battle for al-Bab - setting dangerous precedent for north Syria
24 Feb, 2017
Update
Syria

Hundreds of civilians killed in Turkish capture of al-Bab, as Ankara eyes Kurdish-held Manbij

UN says at least 300 civilians died in Turkey's battle for al-Bab - setting dangerous precedent for north Syria