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Photo by: U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs 

In the latest quarterly civilian casualty assessment report period ending Sept. 30, 2021, U.S. Africa Command received no new reports of civilian casualties and there were no open reports carried over from previous quarters. There are currently no assessments open or under review.

This is the seventh quarterly civilian casualty assessment report since U.S. Africa Command began releasing reports in April 2020 as part of its commitment to increased transparency and accountability.

U.S. Africa Command takes all reports of possible civilian casualties seriously and has a processes to conduct thorough assessments using all available information. The command will continue to maintain and improve the civilian casualty assessment program and remains committed to reviewing and assessing any reports of civilian harm.  

Discrepancies between U.S. Africa Command civilian casualty assessments and NGO Reports

U.S. Africa Command’s assessment of reports of civilian casualties occasionally differ from other organizations, including Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) for a number of reasons. The command’s information is based on reliable and layered intelligence sources and classified operational reporting which are not available to the public. This can contribute to perceived discrepancies between the command’s results and those of others.

Definition of “civilian” and “combatant”

Consistent with the Department of Defense Law of War Manual, “civilian” and “combatant” are defined as follows: 

Civilian: Persons who are not combatants (members of military/security forces or members of either a declared hostile force or an organized armed group of a party to an armed conflict). Civilians may lose their protection against attacks if demonstrating hostile intent, engaging in a hostile act, or for such time as they take direct part in hostilities; but they retain or regain such protection when they cease said conduct, or if they become wounded, sick, detained, or surrender, and thereby are unable to continue said conduct. All personnel in the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility received the protections of civilian status, unless they are positively identified as legitimate military targets.

Combatant: Persons directly participating in an armed conflict, or persons whose hostile actions have purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the U.S. individuals who are formally or functionally part of a non-State armed group that is engaged in hostilities may be made the object of attack because they likewise share in their group’s hostile intent. 

U.S. Africa Command Quarterly Civilian Casualty Assessment Report
Summary of Results

Completed Assessments

There were no new completed assessments, all open assessments were closed out in the previous quarterly report. 

Note: Where reports of civilian casualties are determined to be unsubstantiated, it means there was insufficient information to validate or substantiate the reports. When new information is received, a report of civilian casualties can be reassessed. Until that occurs, the assessment is considered complete. 

Open incidents

There are currently no open incidents.