Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

Lib2011-080

Incident date

April 29, 2011

Location

الغيران, Ghiran, Misurata, Libya

Geolocation

32.350541, 15.032818 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Up to six civilians were reported injured by shelling from Gaddafi regime forces in Ghiran near Misurata.

A video posted by Ismail Abdulla shows various civilians being treated in hospital for injuries said to have been sustained from the shelling.

There is currently no further known public information available relating to this event.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    4–6
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    Gaddafi Forces
  • Suspected targets
    Libyan rebel forces, Other, Unknown

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • The video showing the victims of the alleged attack

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Ghiran (الغيران), for which the generic coordinates are: 32.350541, 15.032818. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Gaddafi Forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Gaddafi Forces
  • Gaddafi Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    4–6
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    Gaddafi Forces
  • Suspected targets
    Libyan rebel forces, Other, Unknown

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

Lib2011-077

Incident date

April 25, 2011

Location

مصراتة, Misurata, Libya

Geolocation

32.374457, 15.087794 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On April 25th, 2011, Gaddafi forces shelled Misurata at dawn, firing over 40 rockets.

Al Jazeera reported that 12 civilians were killed in the attack and a further 57 injured , according to a rebel spokesman.

Airwars has to date been unable to identify additional sources in relation to this event.

The incident occured around dawn.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    12
  • Civilians reported injured
    57
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    Gaddafi Forces
  • Suspected targets
    Libyan rebel forces, Other

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Misurata (مصراتة), for which the generic coordinates are: 32.374457, 15.087794. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Gaddafi Forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Gaddafi Forces
  • Gaddafi Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    12
  • Civilians reported injured
    57
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    Gaddafi Forces
  • Suspected targets
    Libyan rebel forces, Other

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

Lib2011-078

Incident date

April 25, 2011

Location

الزنتان, Al Zintan, Jabal Al Gharbi, Libya

Geolocation

31.930396, 12.250838 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On April 25th, 2011, three people were reported killed while fleeing Zintan, due to artillery shelling from Gaddafi forces .

It was unclear how many of those harmed were civilians or rebels, from this single source claim via Al Jazeera.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    0 – 3
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    Gaddafi Forces
  • Suspected targets
    Libyan rebel forces, Other
  • Belligerents reported killed
    0–3

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Al Zintan (الزنتان), for which the generic coordinates are: 31.930396, 12.250838. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Gaddafi Forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Gaddafi Forces
  • Gaddafi Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    0 – 3
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    Gaddafi Forces
  • Suspected targets
    Libyan rebel forces, Other
  • Belligerents reported killed
    0–3

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

Lib2011-076

Incident date

April 24, 2011

Location

مصراتة, Misurata, Libya

Geolocation

32.374457, 15.087794 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between one and 14 civilians were allegedly killed by Gaddafi forces shelling on Misurata.

An Amnesty International investigation found the following: “Ahmed Ahmed al-Majdoub, a 64-year-old father of 10, was killed on 25 April at his daughter’s house in the Qasr Ahmad neighbourhood of Misratah, to the west of the port.”

The investigation quotes al-Majdoub’s son as saying: “After lunch everybody left and my father and my brother Fathallah stayed there. There had been many rockets that morning in the area but most of them fell into the sea or near the sea. At about 2.30pm a rocket struck near the house. I rushed over and found my father in pieces. One leg was completely severed and the other leg and one arm were only hanging by a thread and he was cut all over. He died almost immediately. My brother Fathallah had shrapnel injuries all over his body and was later evacuated by a humanitarian boat to a hospital in Benghazi.”

Reuters said at the time of the attack: “Speaking to Reuters by telephone, Muhammad Ibrahim, a resident of the city who visited its hospital on Monday, said that seven of those killed on Monday were civilians and three opposition fighters.

Three bodies were charred to the point of difficult identification due to the bombing on Sunday night. A ten-year-old child was killed in his sleep. But residents said that many shells fell in empty lands. They added that the bombing stopped when NATO warplanes flew overhead.”

Al Jazeera also reported on the event: “Press sources in Misrata: 14 people were killed and 25 wounded in the Qadhafi Brigades’ bombing of the city today”

The incident occured at 14:30:00 local time.

The victims were named as:

Ahmed Ahmed al-Majdoub
64 years old male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    8 – 14
  • (1 child1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–25
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected targets
    Libyan rebel forces, Other
  • Belligerents reported killed
    3

Sources (3) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Ahmed Ahmed al-Majdoub, allegedly killed by Gaddafi forces shelling on Misurata on April 24th, 2011 (via Misurata)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Misurata (مصراتة), for which the generic coordinates are: 32.374457, 15.087794. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    8 – 14
  • (1 child1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–25
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected targets
    Libyan rebel forces, Other
  • Belligerents reported killed
    3

Sources (3) [ collapse]

Incident Code

Lib2011-075

Incident date

April 23, 2011

Location

مصراتة, Misurata, Libya

Geolocation

32.374457, 15.087794 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Gaddafi forces bombing of Misurata allegedly killed 40 civilians and injured many more, according to a major news channel.

Al Jazeera reported at the time: “40 people were killed and dozens of others wounded in a bombing carried out by the Gaddafi Brigades on Saturday on the city of Misurata”

There is currently no additional known public information regarding this event.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    40
  • Civilians reported injured
    24–36
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected targets
    Libyan rebel forces, Other

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Misurata (مصراتة), for which the generic coordinates are: 32.374457, 15.087794. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    40
  • Civilians reported injured
    24–36
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected targets
    Libyan rebel forces, Other

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

Lib2011-070

Incident date

April 20, 2011

Location

مصراتة, Misurata, Libya

Geolocation

32.374457, 15.087794 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Seven civilians were reported killed as a result of indiscriminate shelling on Misurata by Gaddafi forces. Among them were two internationally known photojournalists, Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros.

The BBC reported: “Briton Tim Hetherington, 40, is said to have been killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack. US photographer Chris Hondros, 41, was also killed, and two others, including Briton Guy Martin, were injured.”

A former colleague later said they were indeed killed by a mortar shell: “Sebastian Junger had planned to be along on that assignment. ‘At the last minute, I couldn’t go,’ he told Koppel. ‘Tim went on his own, and was hit with a fragment from an .81 mm mortar, the same mortar that killed Chris Hondros.'”

In a Vanity Fair article he reiterated the story: “Tim was 40 years old when he died and had devoted most of his professional life to documenting the human cost of war. On April 20, in a bombed-out section of Misrata, a single mortar shell made him part of the cost. He was hit in the groin with shrapnel and bled out in the back of a pickup truck while Guillermo Cervera, a Spanish photojournalist he had just met, held his hand and tried to keep him awake. Hours earlier, amidst fierce shelling by Qaddafi forces, Tim had sent what was to be his last message on Twitter: In besieged Libyan city of Misurata. Indiscriminate shelling by Qaddafi forces. No sign of NATO.”

According to the Daily Mail, three more people were injured in the attack.

Arab Anger Revolution said that five more people were killed on that day in Misurata due to indiscriminate shelling.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Tim Hetherington
40 years old male Photographer killed
Chris Hondros
41 years old male Photographer killed
Guy Martin
Adult male Photographer injured
Michael Brown
Adult male Freelance journalist injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    7
  • (2 men2 journalist)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–3
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected targets
    Libyan rebel forces, Other

Sources (9) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (4) [ collapse]

  • Tim Hetherington (via CBS)
  • Chrin Hondros (via CBS)
  • Video report on the incident by BBC Arabic
  • Euro News report on the incident

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Misurata (مصراتة), for which the generic coordinates are: 32.374457, 15.087794. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    7
  • (2 men2 journalist)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–3
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected targets
    Libyan rebel forces, Other

Sources (9) [ collapse]

Incident Code

Lib2011-071

Incident date

April 20, 2011

Location

بئر الغنم, Bi'r al Ghanam, Zawiya, Libya

Geolocation

32.311608, 12.569035 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Four civilians were reported killed in a NATO airstrike on Bi’r al Ghanam near Tripoli.

Arab Anger Revolution posted on Facebook that “Earlier, four people were killed in the Bi’r al-Ghanam area, southwest of the capital, after an airstrike by the alliance on civilian and military targets.”

NATO did not report airstrikes in the area on that day.

There is currently no further known public information available for this event.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    NATO forces
  • Suspected targets
    Gaddafi forces, Other

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Bi’r al Ghanam (بئر الغنم), for which the generic coordinates are: 32.311608, 12.569035. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

NATO forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    NATO forces
  • NATO forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    NATO forces
  • Suspected targets
    Gaddafi forces, Other

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

Lib2011-069

Incident date

April 14, 2011

Location

مصراتة, Misurata, Libya

Geolocation

32.374457, 15.087794 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

At least 16 civilians were reportedly killed in indiscriminate shelling by Gaddafi regime forces on Misurata.

Human Rights Watch reported: “Libyan government forces have launched indiscriminate rocket and mortar attacks on residential neighborhoods in the rebel-held city of Misrata, Human Rights Watch said today. One strike, apparently by a Grad rocket, killed at least eight civilians waiting in line for bread. Another attack, apparently with a mortar round, hit a medical clinic, wounding four others.

At least 16 civilians have been killed in indiscriminate attacks since April 14, 2011, Human Rights Watch said, based on witness and survivor accounts, as well as inspections of the impact sites. Human Rights Watch found no evidence of military activity in the areas that came under attack, and witnesses said rebel fighters were not present in those areas when the attacks took place.”

Al Jazeera also reported on the shelling, showing the bodies of civilians and rocket fragments.

The Telegraph put the number of victims at 23, saying that “most of the dead were reported to be women and children, along with three Egyptian migrant workers waiting to be evacuated.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    16 – 23
  • (4–6 children4–6 women3 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    4
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected targets
    Libyan rebel forces, Other, Unknown

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Al Jazeera reporting on the indiscriminate shelling in Misurata

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Misurata (مصراتة), for which the generic coordinates are: 32.374457, 15.087794. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    16 – 23
  • (4–6 children4–6 women3 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    4
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected targets
    Libyan rebel forces, Other, Unknown

Sources (4) [ collapse]