U.S. Africa Command Civilian Harm Assessment Process
U.S. Africa Command has made it a priority to be as transparent as possible; we are committed to providing as much information as possible about an airstrike while protecting U.S. and partner forces movements, intelligence collection methods, operational details, and any other information the enemy could us for their own gain.
U.S. Africa Command Civilian Casualty Assessment Quarterly Report; 2nd Quarter, 2022
** Read the report in Arabic and French.
In the latest quarterly civilian casualty assessment report period ending Mar. 31, 2022, 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 ninth quarterly civilian casualty assessment report since U.S. Africa Command began releasing reports in April 2020. The reports are part of the command’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
To make information more readily available, U.S. Africa Command introduced a new section on its web site that consolidates all information regarding U.S. Africa Command airstrikes. The page, available here, details strike and civilian casualty assessment processes, quarterly reports, and air strike news releases.
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.