civilian casualties

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2023 Saw a Shocking Number of Civilian Casualties

Nearly 34K were killed or hurt, more than any other year since 2010 when monitoring began

(Newser) - A staggering 33,846 civilians were killed or injured in armed violence amid global conflict in 2023, according to Action on Armed Violence (AOAV)—and that's the highest number since the monitoring group started keeping records in 2010. It's also a 62% increase over the year prior, the...

In Gaza, a Staggering Milestone
In Gaza, a
Staggering
Milestone
the rundown
Dec 22, 2023 10:44 AM CST

In Gaza, a Staggering Milestone

More than 20K have been killed, says the health ministry

(Newser) - Eleven weeks of war have resulted in a jarring casualty count in Gaza: The health ministry there says the number of people killed is now over 20,000, reports Reuters . The chaos of war makes the number difficult to verify by independent sources, and both Israeli and US officials point...

Young Writer Among Dead in Russian Strike on Pizza Parlor

Victoria Amelina, 37, documented war crimes

(Newser) - Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina was among the 13 killed when a Russian missile hit a pizza parlor in the eastern city of Kramatorsk last week. The 37-year-old, an award-winning war crimes researcher, was at the restaurant with a delegation of Colombian journalists at the time, the BBC reports. She was...

Military Drone Operators Suffer a Heavy Mental Toll

'New York Times' explores the effects on them

(Newser) - Kevin Larson was a churchgoing Eagle Scout and honors student with dreams of becoming a fighter pilot. He received his officer’s commission in 2012, but by then, the Air Force didn’t need airplane pilots, it needed drone pilots. Larson was disappointed, according to a story in the New ...

Global Outcry Meets Evidence of Atrocities in Bucha

Bucha's mayor reports bodies of executed civilians in the streets, mass graves

(Newser) - The discovery of the bodies of apparently executed civilians left behind in a Ukrainian town by withdrawing Russian troops was met with international condemnation on Sunday, even as residents assess the horrific toll. One street in Bucha contained the bodies of at least 20 men, CNN reports. "Their hands...

Evidence Raises Questions About US Drone Strike

Driver could have been putting canisters of water, not explosives, in his vehicle

(Newser) - Video footage and interviews in Kabul have raised questions about the Pentagon's account of the final, fatal US drone attack of the Afghanistan war. The drone struck a vehicle in a residential neighborhood on Aug. 29 that the military said carried explosives and was "an imminent ISIS-K threat"...

US Bombings in Afghanistan Hit Record High

7,423 munitions dropped in 2019, compared to 947 in 2015

(Newser) - The US dropped more bombs on Afghanistan in 2019 than in any other year since the Pentagon began keeping track in 2006. A total of 7,423 munitions were dropped, up from 7,362 in 2018 and 4,361 in 2017, Military.com reports based on data from the US...

Afghanistan Civilians See Grim, New Low

July has worst civilian casualties since 2017

(Newser) - July saw the highest number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan in a single month since 2017, the UN mission said Saturday, per the AP . Its preliminary findings indicate more than 1,500 civilians were killed or wounded, mainly due to a spike in casualties from insurgent attacks. It did not...

Amnesty: US Is Killing Civilians in Somalia

Pentagon disputes report

(Newser) - There is credible evidence that US military airstrikes in Somalia have killed or wounded nearly two dozen civilians, an international human rights group said Tuesday, charging that the Pentagon is not adequately investigating potential casualties. US Africa Command officials immediately disputed the allegations laid out in a report by Amnesty...

US Military: 33 Civilians Killed During Strike on Taliban

Pentagon conducts investigation after mass casualties

(Newser) - The US military's investigation into a November firefight with the Taliban has shown that 33 civilians died in the raid during which American troops fired on Afghan homes, reports the AP . The inquiry followed claims that civilian deaths resulted from airstrikes called in to support Afghan and US forces...

Man Sues After Drones Kill His Relatives

His appellate court hearing made history

(Newser) - In August 2012, a US drone strike in Yemen killed two innocent men, and the US should apologize for their deaths, according to a historic lawsuit filed by Yemeni engineer Faisal bin Ali Jaber. Jaber, who wants the drone strike that killed his family members Ahmed Salem Bin Ali Jaber...

US Doubles Estimated Civilian Airstrike Deaths

Military says 119 killed since 2014 in Iraq and Syria

(Newser) - US Central Command says airstrikes in Iraq and Syria have killed at least 64 civilians during the past year, more than doubling the number of civilian deaths since renewed operations began in 2014, reports the Washington Post . On Wednesday, the Department of Defense released an official statement describing the review...

US Disciplines at Least 12 for Airstrike on Hospital

Strike on Doctors Without Borders hospital a 'tragic but avoidable accident'

(Newser) - More than a dozen US military personnel have been disciplined, but face no criminal charges, for errors that led to the aerial attack on a civilian hospital that killed 42 people in northern Afghanistan last year, say US defense officials speaking anonymously. Per the AP , the officials say the disciplinary...

ACLU Suit: Spill Killer-Drone Details, Mr. President

Complaint says administration has been stonewalling about 'kill list' since 2013

(Newser) - In October 2013, the ACLU filed a FOIA request to find out more about the US counterterrorism drone program, the Guardian reports. Since then, the Obama administration has fought "tooth-and-nail" against releasing documents and "failed to follow through on … commitments to openness," the ACLU said today...

Afghan Civilian Casualties Have Jumped 22%: UN

Taliban responsible for 72% of them, report says

(Newser) - The number of civilians killed or wounded in fighting in Afghanistan climbed by 22% in 2014 to reach the highest level in five years as foreign troops concluded their combat mission, the UN says in an annual report released today. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan in 2014 documented 10,...

Drone in Yemen Kills 9 al-Qaeda Suspects: Officials

3 civilians killed in attack: reports

(Newser) - A drone strike in southern Yemen killed at least nine suspected al-Qaeda militants and three civilians today, authorities said. A Yemeni military official said the strike hit a vehicle carrying the militants in the Sawmaa area in the al-Bayda province as another car carrying civilians passed by. A medical official...

Karzai: al-Qaeda Is a 'Myth'
 Karzai: 
 al-Qaeda 
 Is a 'Myth' 
INTERVIEW
Mar 3, 2014 8:44 AM CST

Karzai: al-Qaeda Is a 'Myth'

Outgoing leader vents frustrations with US

(Newser) - Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai says he's "done enough; it’s time for me to move on." But ahead of April's elections to replace him, Karzai is reflecting on his time as president—and his anger at the US government—in a lengthy Washington Post interview. Furious...

There's a Secret Provision in Congress' Spending Bill

It would kill Obama's plans to take the drone program out of CIA hands

(Newser) - Congress' $1.1 trillion spending bill contains a secret provision torpedoing President Obama's plans to pass the drone program from the CIA to the Pentagon. In a classified annex, the bill specifically prohibits any funds being used to facilitate such a transfer, the Washington Post reports. Obama wants to...

What It's Like to Pilot a Drone

 What It's Like to Pilot a Drone 
OPINION
Dec 30, 2013 1:48 PM CST

What It's Like to Pilot a Drone

Heather Linebaugh says she was always afraid she'd killed the wrong people

(Newser) - When politicians and military officials make the US and British drone programs sound like an expert, high-precision affair, Heather Linebaugh has the urge to ask some questions. Like: Why do they feel the need to deliver false , limited , or misleading statistics about civilian casualties? "How many women and children...

US: Sorry About Drone Strike That Killed Child

Top commander apologizes to Hamid Karzai

(Newser) - The top US commander in Afghanistan apologized to President Hamid Karzai for a drone strike that killed a child and NATO promised an investigation today as rising tensions threatened efforts to persuade the Afghan leader to sign a long-delayed security agreement. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford called Karzai late yesterday to...

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