Tag

#airstrikes

Multiple or sustained aerial bombardment operations. Incidents document patterns of airstrikes, cumulative civilian harm, and systemic failures to comply with proportionality and distinction requirements.

Grade 3 of 5: Serious Rights Violation

Raqqa Bombardment: US-Led Coalition Strikes Killed More Than 1,600 Civilians in Four Months, Amnesty and Airwars Find (June–October 2017)

The US-led campaign to retake Raqqa from ISIS in 2017 used thousands of air strikes and some 30,000 unguided artillery rounds in a city full of trapped civilians. Amnesty and Airwars found more than 1,600 civilians reportedly killed; the coalition admits 159. Amnesty found prima facie evidence of unlawful attacks; no investigation has established individual criminal responsibility.

Grade 3 of 5: Serious Rights Violation

Somalia Civilian Casualties: Loosened Targeting Rules and Transparency Rollbacks

Trump's Somalia designation and overall loosening of targeting rules — including relaxing the 'near-certainty' standard for civilian safety — significantly increased the pace of airstrikes across multiple theaters. Amnesty International documented civilian deaths in Somalia strikes that the US had said killed no civilians. The administration also reduced the reporting requirements for civilian harm assessments, eliminating the only systematic public accounting of civilian harm.