The US-led bombing campaign against the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) has killed hundreds of civilians in Iraq and Syria, despite official recognition of only two deaths, a new report has alleged. 
Up to 591 civilians have been killed by coalition bombs in the year-long battle to push back the Islamist militants, the report says. The toll is dwarfed by that of ISIS, but the Airwars group, which produced the research, alleges that the failure of the United States and other nations to release enough information creates space for the Islamists’ propaganda to grow.
US BOMBING OF ISIS ‘KILLS HUNDREDS OF CIVILIANS’
The US-led bombing campaign against the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) has killed hundreds of civilians in Iraq and Syria, despite official recognition of only two deaths, a new report has alleged.
Up to 591 civilians have been killed by coalition bombs in the year-long battle to push back the Islamist militants, the report says. The toll is dwarfed by that of ISIS, but the Airwars group, which produced the research, alleges that the failure of the United States and other nations to release enough information creates space for the Islamists’ propaganda to grow.
Transparency
Responsibility for the deaths of civilians is notoriously difficult to prove in international law, however, in theory, certain countries could be held responsible if they were shown to have taken insufficient steps to protect civilians.
With the exception of Canada, all of the countries in the coalition have released only partial information about their attacks (see chart below). This makes verification of events even harder.
“The individual countries are hiding behind the coalition” to avoid awkward questions, Woods told IRIN.
“Each individual nation is liable for the citizens it kills – that is the position of the coalition,” Woods said. “But unless all of the nations follow Canada’s lead there can be no accountability for those killed. It is a requirement, it is not a choice.
Although the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) tallies the number of civilians killed by conflict, it doesn’t include those killed by coalition airstrikes. Woods called on UNAMI to start monitoring and reporting on the airstrike casualties, pointing out that the UN mission in Afghanistan already does so.In the map below, you can see all the alleged civilian deaths. Click on a bubble for more information.
