Action on Armed Violence (
@AOAV
) investigates and records harm to civilians in conflicts around the world.
For press inquiries, please contact
@iainoverton
The latest airstrike in
#Dedebit
,
#Tigray
brings the total number of civilian casualties from explosive weapon use in
#Ethiopia
to 397 (146 killed, 251 injured), as recorded by
@AOAV
since the conflict began 14 months ago.
The Ethiopian conflict has been characterised by devastating
#airstrikes
on
#Tigray
|an towns and cities, killing scores of civilians.
Hours before the cessation of hostilities came into effect on 3 Nov, an airstrike reportedly killed 40 people in the town of Maychew.
The latest
#airstrikes
on the
#Tigray
region risk seriously exacerbating the already devastating impact of hostilities on civilians.
Since 2020, AOAV has recorded 32 air strikes in Ethiopia, and 1,030 civilian casualties.
95% of civilian casualties occurred in populated areas.
In this week's issue of
#AtrocityAlert
:
🔺
#Iran
|ian security forces use excessive and lethal force against protesters
🔺 Fears for civilians grow as conflict reignites in
#Ethiopia
's
#Tigray
region
🔺 Inter-communal violence resumes in
#Abyei
On 5 Oct, an air strike hit a school in Adi Daero,
#Tigray
, that was sheltering people displaced by the ongoing conflict.
At least 50 people were killed and some 70 injured.
@Reuters
In
#Ethiopia
, a deadly conflict and the horrors of war have been largely hidden from the West over the past two years.
An estimated 383,000 to 600,000 civilians died in
#Tigray
between Nov 2020 and Aug 2022.
@USATODAY
@khjelmgaard
At least 8 people were reported to have died, with dozens injured in an
#airstrike
in Ethiopia's
#Tigray
in late September.
Access to the area for journalists is strictly limited, but
@MwaiPetrov
and
@BBCRealityCheck
try to work out what happened.
UK arms exports examined - a thread
Our research from
@murrayreports
has found that Britain has approved exports of military goods to 80% of the countries on its own embargoed or trade restricted list in just over five years /1
🧵Since the beginning of February, there has been heavy fighting in Las Anod, Somaliland, between
#Somaliland
forces and local tribal leadership.
The fighting has caused widespread civilian harm: AOAV has recorded at least 756 civilian casualties.
1/7
In this short documentary, veterans grapple with a past that still reverberates powerfully through their lives.
"I don't know how to explain the war to myself."
@nytimes
#Iraq20YearsOn
#Iraq
#IraqWar
🧵Shocking new evidence of multiple SAS
#WarCrimes
in Afghanistan has been revealed.
AOAV has been examining allegations of extrajudicial killings by British Special Forces, alongside a long-running
@BBCPanorama
investigation. 1/12
Odesa is still in Putin’s sights. The waters of its coast are full of
#mines
, and
#missiles
strike the city regularly.
“Of course we’re scared. That’s why we drink beer.”
@ChrisDYork
,
@BylineTimes
@AlabedBana
is a Syrian girl who with the help of her mother documented the siege of Aleppo via Twitter. Now eleven years old and living in Turkey, Bana tells
@AOAV
of her experiences of war and how they effected her and her family.
Hear from
@bellingcat
researchers who have examined key cases of civilian harm over the past year, Ukrainian journalists on the ground, and a legal scholar who explains how Russia’s leadership could be prosecuted.
👇
@JakeGodin
#UkraineRussianWar
Tonight at 9pm, as
@BBCPanorama
runs its investigation into extra-judicial killings in Afghanistan by UK Special Forces,
@aoav
will publish its own independent research into those deaths, asking if there were fundamental flaws in the military justice system during a time of war.
"Our research unearths long forgotten ministerial statements in Hansard, the official record of the UK parliament, to prove that Britain previously had a culture of relative openness about its special forces that lasted for four decades."
Our latest research in
@declassifiedUK
Ross is one of hundreds of Native Hawaiians who are unable to secure housing on lands that the government set aside for them in a trust, due to the presence of
#UXO
from US military live-fire training in the 1940s.
@propublica
"The MOD loans 285 personnel to 15 different militaries around the world,. One third go to Oman. The supply dwarfs its nearest rivals – Saudi Arabia receives 33 British personnel in this way, Kuwait 30 and Brunei 27."
@pmillerinfo
for
@declassifiedUK
For the first time in 2021,
#Ethiopia
was among
@AOAV
's top 5 worst-affected countries for civilian casualties of explosive violence, on the back of one incident. On 24 June, an airstrike on a market in Tigray killed 64 civilians and injured at least 180.
On 11 Dec X users began to share a false interpretation of our data based on a selective reading of an AOAV report.
The post claimed that the civilian deaths per airstrike in Gaza was 0.8, ignoring AOAV's estimate that Gaza 2023 airstrikes are killing 10.1 per strike.
1/3
"The Saudi-led coalition has carried out at least 244 airstrikes targeting schools. On August 13th 2016, airstrikes in the northern Haydan District hit a school, killing 10 students and wounding 28 others."
Our latest child-focused report, on Yemen.
On 4 July, join Oleksandra Matviichuk, from the Centre for Civil Liberties in Kyiv; Iain Overton, CEO of
@AOAV
; Erica Charters, from
@UniofOxford
; and Gavin Crowden, from
@everycasualty
, to discuss casualty recording in the Ukrainian context.
“Since 31 August we have received numerous reports of civilian casualties due to
#airstrikes
and
#artillery
strikes in
#Tigray
."
Under IHL, indiscriminate attacks or attacks deliberately targeting civilians amount to war crimes
@UNHumanRights
The 6 Nov Syrian-Russian attacks on IDP camps in
#Syria
's
#Idlib
killed eight civilians and injured dozens.
@hrw
's investigation revealed banned
#clustermunitions
were used.
Her job is not just to hand out pensions: It’s to remind the people in
#Siversk
they haven’t been forgotten.
“I think we’re the only one connection between them and the rest of the world”
@CNN
@bencnn
#Ukraine
There’s no mention in
#Oppenheimer
of where 2/3 of the uranium came from: a mine 24 stories deep, now in Congo’s Katanga.
@WIRED
looks into the people who were missing, Black miners hauling earth and stone to sort piles of radioactive ore by hand.
The revelation that British tanks gifted to
#Ukraine
will come equipped with the controversial
#DepletedUranium
rounds was first reported by UK investigative outfit
@declassifiedUK
.
Putin argued Russia will have to respond accordingly
@iainoverton
Our new investigation reveals the UK likely has the second largest military base network in the world, after the US - and is far larger than previously thought.
Check out our interactive global base map in the article - and this thread
In response to X members’ misuse of AOAV data, AOAV would like to clarify that the graph used in the infographic grossly misrepresents AOAV’s findings.
We urge all X users to delete their posts and to retweet this post for clarity.
2/3
AOAV's Executive Director Dr Iain Overton was refused a journalist visa in Rwanda to investigate human rights concerns there.
He spoke to the BBC about his concerns of it being a 'safe' country for refugees.
🧵New analysis by
@AOAV
reveals 🇬🇧 Britain's Special Forces, UKSF, deployed in at least 19 countries, raising ❓ over transparency and oversight. 🌍
Calls for transparency and oversight grow.
#SpecialForces
🗞️ Read more:
1/6
Since 2021, AOAV has recorded 363 incidents of explosive weapon harm in
#Myanmar
, resulting in 917 reported civilian casualties.
At least 143 of those casualties have been children.
52% of child casualties of explosive weapon harm in Myanmar are from
#artillery
#shelling
.
2/2
At
@AOAV
's
#disarmingdebate
,
@KhalilDewan
, Dr Antonia Dawes, and Dr Paul Dixon explored the lack of critical review in the way academia approaches war and the military.
We're so pleased they were here to share their expertise - thank you!
🧵Indiscriminate weapons, like cluster bombs, have been illegal since 1977, but many militaries continue to deploy them. The US and Russia are not signatories of the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions. From the Cold War to Ukraine today, cluster bombs continue to take lives.
The US invaded
#Iraq
20 years ago this spring. From killing hundreds of thousands of civilians to redistributing wealth to the rich and powerful, it was an unmitigated disaster.
These charts show how.
@stephensemler
@jacobin
🧵On the morning of Friday 19 Aug, at least five munitions hit an outdoor market in Al-Bab city, eastern
#Aleppo
.
The attack demolished civilian infrastructure, killing at least 17 civilians, including six children, and injuring 35 more.
1/9
#Syria
"This declaration is but a milestone: not the end."
@iainoverton
highlights the urgent need for states to continue the work to strengthen the protection of civilians in populated areas from
#ExplosiveWeapons
AOAV does not capture all air strikes – not in Gaza, and not in Mosul, Aleppo, or Raqqa.
The addition of a third source (the IDF) dilutes the data, meaning that the user’s findings on Gaza cannot be compared to AOAV’s findings regarding the other conflicts in the post.
3/3
Drones fly over the skies of
#Mekelle
almost every day.
In the last few weeks
#airstrikes
have hit playgrounds and residential areas.
As every new airstrike kills more civilians, more young people are driven to join the military.
@BBC
#Ethiopia
#Tigray
🧵Over 70 states are expected to sign on to the first international explosive weapons declaration to protect civilians in populated areas, at Dublin Castle, Friday 18 November 2022.
@explosiveweapon
1/3
#EWIPADublin
#StopBombingCivilians
#clustermunitions
have harmed hundreds of civilians in
#Ukraine
, and left a legacy of ERW.
"We must urge more countries to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions and draw on its provisions in our efforts to protect civilians"
@bonnie_docherty
@hrw
DoD has publicly confirmed as credible some 344 civilian harm reports in the war against ISIS.
Yet the Pentagon’s position seems to be that its improved response to civilian harm will not apply to incidents already confirmed.
@joanna_nm
@just_security
Quote of the day - today from Canadian poet and novelist Margaret Atwood.
A daily quote from
@aoav
about war and conflict, designed to help us all contemplate the realities of armed violence.
Diplomatic delegations and representatives of humanitarian organisations are gathering in Geneva, as Ireland prepares to present the final draft of a long-awaited political declaration on the protection of civilians from
#explosiveweapons
in populated areas.
#StopBombingCivilians
Short remarks by coordinator of INEW
@lauraboillot
ahead of the meeting today in Geneva where states will be presented with the final text of the new political declaration aimed at protecting civilians from
#explosiveweapons
in populated areas.
#StopBombingCivilians
@Tom_Gregory
talks with
@Michael_Spagat
about how data on civilian casualties of armed violence was weaponised in the 2008 Civilian Casualty Tracking Cell, and mobilised to support the war in
#Afghanistan
.
Join us tomorrow for the launch of our latest report, A Decade of Explosive Violence Harm. We'll discuss global trends, civilian harm, the worst-affected countries this decade, and the most widely used weapons.
Tuesday 25 May, 12:30 - 13:30 BST, on Zoom:
Civilians have consistently borne the brunt of explosive violence; accounting for 73% (262,413) of the total casualties caused by explosive weapons in the last ten years (357,370). /2
Are you able to work in the UK and want to be part of the world's largest explosive violence monitor?
@AOAV
is hiring!
Explosive Violence Monitor Researcher
- £28,000 a year
- London based
- Start 1 Feb 2024
Please apply 🔽
The impact of explosive violence on children is both medically predictable but also subject to local influences and impacts.
In this thread we link to a series of reports that look at the impact of explosive violence, with a focus on children, in key conflict-impacted nations
In a recent report,
@hrw
documented the impact of Turkey's air strikes on critical infrastructure in northeast
#Syria
- but beyond this, some civilians are paying the price of Turkish strikes in life and limb.
More than a quarter of all
#ecosystems
in
#Ukraine
have been damaged as a result of the conflict. The environmental impacts of
#explosiveweapons
continue to harm civilians and livelihoods even long after conflicts officially end.
#ecocide
Join
@AOAV
for a fascinating seminar exploring the impact of the military-industrial complex on research integrity and academic freedom.
Tues July 18: 8.45am - 4.45pm BST
Birkbeck Central, BCB 311
-
Of the weapons identified by The Times, more than 210 were types that have been widely banned under international treaties. More than 330 other weapons appeared to have been used on or near civilian structures.
As the US keeps transfering weapons to Israel to be used in its military campaign in Gaza, a key question should be raised: what about US accountability?
Check out our report w/
@StimsonCenter
on how to rethink accountability in the US security sector:
As the US keeps transfering weapons to Israel to be used in its military campaign in Gaza, a key question should be raised: what about US accountability?
Check out our report w/
@StimsonCenter
on how to rethink accountability in the US security sector:
Since its adoption in 2008, 123 nations have joined the Convention on
#ClusterMunitions
.
The US isn’t one of them.
A report by
@MineMonitor
found that in 2021, civilians accounted for 96% of cluster munition casualties.
@ursalakl
,
@fcnl
Wonderful to see so many here to discuss the implementation of the 18 Nov Political Declaration on
#EWIPA
.
Well done to the entire
@explosiveweapon
network for the hard work it's taken to reach this historical milestone.
#EWIPADublin
#StopBombingCivilians
AOAV's latest findings make clear: when explosive weapons are used in populated areas, civilians are disproportionately impacted and when fewer attacks occur in populated areas, civilian casualties decline.
#EWIPA
Photojournalist
@Nigrotime
recounts the stories of two Ukranian families impacted by the war. One family fled to Poland, the other stayed.
@Truthdig
#Ukraine
️
🚨New: AOAV analysis of MOD documents reveals 289 deaths of Afghan civilians paid out for by the British military, including up to 86 children.
By
@MurrayReports
Full details below 👇/1
Since 2010, based on data gathered from English-language news sources, 91% of civilian casualties of explosive weapon use have occurred in populated areas.
When explosive weapons have been used in populated areas, 91% of total casualties have been civilians.
AOAV welcomes the adoption of the Political Declaration on
#EWIPA
by more than 80 states today in Dublin.
Please see AOAV's full statement given at
#EWIPADublin
below.
“By banning
#clusterbombs
,
#SouthSudan
is taking an important step to strengthen international peace and security”
South Sudan acceded to the international Convention on Cluster Munitions on August 3, 2023 - the 112th country to do so.
@hrw