{"id":41669,"date":"2017-01-20T07:00:57","date_gmt":"2017-01-20T07:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/airwars.org\/news_and_analysis\/mosulraqqa-update\/"},"modified":"2017-01-20T07:00:57","modified_gmt":"2017-01-20T07:00:57","slug":"mosulraqqa-update","status":"publish","type":"news_and_analysis","link":"https:\/\/airwars.org\/news\/mosulraqqa-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Missing in action: Hundreds of civilian deaths pass unremarked in Obama’s final days"},"content":{"rendered":"
In the last weeks of the Obama presidency, the US-led air war against so-called Islamic State intensified dramatically – leading to hundreds of likely\u00a0civilian deaths. Yet in contrast to recent events at Aleppo, international press coverage has been largely absent.<\/span><\/p>\n Since the official start of operations to capture Mosul on October 17th, Airwars researchers have tracked\u00a091 allegations of civilian casualties from Coalition airstrikes\u00a0in and around the city. Of those, 35 claimed events\u00a0are from just the first 17 days of 2017, as\u00a0Iraqi forces sought to capture all of\u00a0eastern Mosul. <\/span><\/p>\n So far four Coalition incidents in the battle for Iraq’s second city\u00a0have been confirmed, taking the lives of at least 20 civilians. A further 35 incidents have been graded as “fair” by Airwars researchers – meaning there are two or more credible local reports and Coalition airstrikes reported in the near vicinity. Based on Airwars assessments, those additional alleged strikes likely claimed the lives of between 294 and 350 civilians in Mosul.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the same period – from October 17th onward – Airwars researchers have recorded 62 alleged civilian casualty incidents stemming from Coalition operations supporting US proxy ground forces in Raqqa governorate.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Two of those incidents have been confirmed by the Coalition, while a further 43 were rated “fair” by Airwars researchers. Based on Airwars monitoring, those incidents appear\u00a0likely to have claimed the lives of another\u00a0154 to\u00a0229 civilians.<\/span><\/p>\n Reports from Mosul in January have seen daily allegations of civilian deaths.\u00a0Airwars has learned of at least one incident – which reportedly claimed the lives of 11 civilians from one family – a full month after it occurred. It is likely that additional cases will be uncovered as journalists gain access to the liberated east of the city. And in<\/span>\u00a0Raqqa, several alleged\u00a0Coalition strikes over the last month have claimed dozens of lives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Both cities are being hit heavily by foreign airpower, leaving many civilians dead amid siege-like conditions. But in the waning days of the Obama administration \u2013 and just\u00a0after the much-covered fall of rebel-held Aleppo – media interest shifted.\u00a0In total, 450 or more civilians appear to have been killed\u00a0in intense Coalition actions across Iraq and Syria since October – yet their deaths have largely been ignored.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “With reported fatalities from Coalition strikes at record levels we would have expected significant media engagement,” says Airwars Director Chris Woods. “Instead, anything beyond local reporting\u00a0has been almost non-existent.”<\/p>\n