Source: Action on Armed Violence
Country: Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, World, Yemen
Number of civilians killed or injured by explosives rises over 50% in five years
In Unacceptable Harm, Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) comes out with its fifth global analysis of the harm wrought by explosive violence. We recorded 33,307 civilians having been killed or injured by explosive weapons – 54% more than when AOAV’s monitor began in 2011. 2015 was the fourth consecutive year that saw a rise in civilians killed or injured.
The full report is available for download here: Unacceptable Harm - Monitoring Explosive Violence in 2015.
The key findings are:
- AOAV recorded 43,786 deaths and injuries by explosive weapons in 2,170 incidents in 2015. Of these, 33,307 were civilians – 76%.
- When explosive weapons were used in populated areas, 92% of those killed and injured were civilians. This compares to 31% in other areas.
- Civilian deaths and injuries in populated areas represented 89% of all reported civilian deaths and injuries.
- This is the fourth consecutive year in which recorded civilian casualties of explosive violence have increased. In 2011, 21,499 civilians were killed or injured.
- There was a sharp rise in the number of civilians recorded killed or injured by suicide attacks, reaching 9,205. This was 67% more than recorded in 2014.
- Incidents caused by air-launched weaponry killed and injured a reported 9,200 civilians worldwide, accounting for 28% of all civilian deaths and injuries. This represents a rise of 57% in civilian deaths and injuries from 2014.
- Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Nigeria and Afghanistan saw the highest number of civilian deaths and injuries in 2015.
- Numbers of reported deaths and injuries in Syria continued to rise. More than 10,000 deaths and injuries were recorded by AOAV in Syria in 2015.
- A number of countries saw a significant rise in civilian deaths and injuries as a result of explosive weapons compared to the year before: Turkey (7682%), Yemen (1204%), Egypt (142%), Libya (85%), Syria (39%) and Nigeria (22%).
- Six countries and territories had over 1,000 civilian deaths and injuries in 2015.
- Incidents were recorded in 64 countries and territories around the world – five more countries than in 2014.
