Tag: civilian casualties

Iran

Potential US ‘war crimes’ seen in Iran

QeshmThe UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran called on all parties to the conflict to immediately cease hostilities and comply with international humanitarian law following reported US air-strikes that killed and injured civilians in southern Iran. A reported US air-strike hit a home in Kuhestak, Hormozgan province, during a wedding celebration. Iranian media reported that five people died, including two children and one woman, and that dozens of others suffered injuries. Weeks earlier, another reported US strike destroyed a residential home on Qeshm Island, killing a man, a woman and their two-year-old son, and injuring their two other children. Both attacks occurred in areas with historically marginalized minority populations. The Mission identified Kuhestak as predominantly Baloch, and Qeshm as predominantly Sunni. The Mission found that these strikes may have constituted war crimes, and called for thorough investigations. (Map: Wikipedia)

Iran

Podcast: Trump to The Hague! II

ICCInternational law scholars are warning that Trump may have committed war crimes in Iran, and that his ongoing threats to bomb civilian targets may constitute self-incrimination—by the same standards that US prosecutors used to gather evidence against Russia in Ukraine (before Trump suspended cooperation). Additionally, his exterminationist rhetoric may represent a step on the ladder of escalation toward genocide. In Episode 324 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg continues to make the case—political, legal and practical—for sending Trump to a prison cell at The Hague. (Photo: Tony Webster via Wikimedia Commons)

The Caribbean

Ongoing US air-strikes on vessels in Caribbean

Coast GuardHuman Rights Watch released a statement condemning the "unlawful use of lethal force outside any context of armed conflict" by the US military over the past months. The organization stressed that the ongoing deadly strikes on vessels thought to be carrying illegal drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific amount to "extrajudicial executions." The statement came in response to an announcement from the Pentagon's Southern Command that the US carried out a "lethal kinetic strike" on a boat allegedly engaged in drug trafficking. The strike killed three individuals, and was the 47th such strike  carried out since September, resulting in 163 total deaths. (US Coast Guard via Wikimedia Commons) 

Iran

Demand accountability for US strike on Iran school

MinabAmnesty International called for those responsible for a US strike on an Iranian school to be held accountable. The Feb. 28 strike on the girls' school in Minab, in southern Iran, killed over 100 children. Amnesty's Evidence Lab conducted an investigation into the strike, analyzing over 30 satellite images and reviewing official statements, media reports, and witnesses accounts. The group found that the school was hit by precision-guided munitions, and additionally uncovered that the US may have relied on outdated intelligence to conduct the strike. This would constitute a violation of international law—specifically the duty to verify that an intended target is a military objective. While the school was located adjacent to a military compound of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, satellite images show that the building had been physically separated from the compound by construction of perimeter walls at least since from 2016. (Photo: Mehr via Wikimedia Commons)

Iran

‘Black rain’ falls on Tehran amid US-Israeli strikes

TehranUnited Nations officials said that US and Israeli airstrikes on fuel depots in Tehran have released large amounts of toxic pollutants, producing acidic "black rain" across parts of the capital. Officials from the World Health Organization warned that the burning of depots has released hydrocarbons, sulphur oxides, and nitrogen compounds into the atmosphere. The released pollutants have caused darkened skies in Tehran, prompting authorities to advise residents to remain indoors due to respiratory risks and potential water contamination. (Photo: Mehr via Wikimedia Commons)

Iran

UN demands civilian protection amid Middle East escalation

MinabThe United Nations urgently called for civilian protection amid growing violence and instability in the Middle East—and particularly in regard to the ongoing US and Israeli military operations against Iran. The UN urged a thorough investigation into a deadly strike on a girls' school in Iran, and requested the disclosure of all relevant information. The attack in the southern coastal city of Minab reportedly killed 168 people. According to Iran's Ministry of Education, the overwhelming majority of the slain were schoolgirls aged seven to 12. The strike came on the first day of coordinated US and Israeli airstrikes officially targeting Iranian infrastructure and military facilities. (Photo: Mehr via Wikimedia Commons)

Greater Middle East

Civilian toll of US bombing in Yemen

warplanesA late May ceasefire between Yemen's Houthi rebels and the US appears to be holding, although Israel and the Houthis are still in conflict, with the latter saying this week that they have joined Iran's war effort. A new report from casualty monitor AirWars looks at the civilian death toll during the 53 days of "Operation Rough Rider," when Trump escalated a long-running US bombing campaign in Yemen. The monitor says at least 224 civilians were killed between the operation's start in mid-March until the May truce, marking a massive escalation from previous US campaigns. If you also include the 258 civilians counted as killed in the previous 23 years of US operations against the Houthis, al-Qaeda, and other groups, it takes the overall civilian toll from US bombing in Yemen to almost 500. (Photo: CENTCOM)

Greater Middle East

Signal breach exposes flippant attitude to civilian deaths

YemenNearly 60 people, including children, have been killed as the United States expands its two-week bombing campaign in Yemen to include (according to a review by the Associated Press) "firing at ranking personnel as well as dropping bombs in cities." This comes as recently exposed Signal messages between senior US officials discussing the air-strikes demonstrated a flippant attitude towards the lives of Yemeni civilians. In one disturbing exchange concerning an apparent strike on a civilian apartment building, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz writes: "The first target—their top missile guy—we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend's building and it's now collapsed." "Excellent," comes the reply from Vice President JD Vance. The messages, which were brought to light after a journalist from The Atlantic was mistakenly added to the officials' group chat in a staggering breach of normal security protocols, show a callous indifference to the ethical implications of bombing civilian areas. This is perhaps unsurprising for a country that provided many of the planes and trained many of the pilots involved in the Saudi-led bombing campaign that killed over 9,000 Yemenis between 2015 and 2022. (Map via PCL)

Afghanistan

ICC rules Afghanistan investigation may proceed

ICCPre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) authorized prosecutors to resume their investigation into atrocities committed in Afghanistan since May 1, 2003, following a two-year hiatus. The Chamber found "that Afghanistan is not presently carrying out genuine investigations." The Chamber emphasized that the authorization is limited to crimes falling within the conflict as it existed at the time of the original investigation request in November 2017. The Chamber rejected that request in April 2019. This decision was overturned by the Appeals Chamber in March 2020. However, the investigation was halted following a request from the government of Afghanistan. ICC prosecutor Karim AA Khan sought to review the deferral in September 2021. At that time, Khan said he concluded, "there is no longer the prospect of genuine and effective domestic investigations into Article 5 crimes within Afghanistan." (Photo: ICC)

Syria
Aleppo ruins

UN: more than 300,000 civilians dead in Syria war

Africa Climate SummitThe inaugural biennial Africa Climate Summit, attended by some 30,000 delegates including 17 heads of state, wrapped up in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, following three days of discussions largely centred on the opportunities for "green" economic growth on the continent. The summit issued the Nairobi Declaration, containing a slew of pledges and demands, including calls to accurately value the continent's natural carbon sequestration assets (such as its forests). The declaration also called on wealthy countries to live up to their existing commitments to cut emissions and to deliver funds for adaptation—by properly launching, for example, the Loss & Damage Fund agreed to at last year's COP27 in Egypt. However, the summit was also dogged by controversy and protests, with more than 500 civil society organizations signing an open letter claiming its agenda had been hijacked to market "false solutions" such as carbon markets. (Photo: Evan Habil/Greenpeace)