In January 2025, Action on Armed Violence recorded 3,987 deaths and injuries from 685 incidents of explosive violence around the world, as reported in English-language media. Civilians accounted for 89% (3,557) of the deaths and injuries recorded.
In instances where explosive weapons were used in populated areas, 95% of casualties (3,416) were civilians, as opposed to 36% (141) in non-populated areas.
Manufactured explosive weapons accounted for 96% (3,416) of civilian casualties, while improvised explosive weapons (IEDs) accounted for 4% (141) of these civilian casualties in January 2025.
Of the main launch-method types of manufactured explosive weapons, air-launched explosive weapons accounted for 69% (2,458) of civilian casualties, ground-launched weapons were responsible for 22% (795) of civilian casualties, and mines were responsible for 1% (19) of civilian casualties.
At least one death or injury from the use of explosive weapons was recorded in 23 countries and territories in January 2025. The five most affected countries and territories in terms of civilian casualties from the use of explosive weapons were Gaza (1,106 civilian casualties), Ukraine (869), Sudan (636), Myanmar (347) and Syria (318).
GAZA
In January 2025, there were 221 incidents of explosive weapon use recorded in Gaza, 217 of which resulted in 1,106 civilian casualties, of whom 725 were killed and 381 injured. Civilian casualties included at least 87 children, 24 women, and 29 men. Overall, civilians accounted for 96% of all 1,148 casualties recorded in Gaza in January, as there were also 42 reported armed-actor casualties, of whom 14 were killed and 28 injured.
Due to the consistent and frequent attacks in populated areas using explosive weapons, incident-specific reporting of casualties in Gaza is a slow and laborious process, with many reports coming in weeks after the incident. This, added to the difficulty in disaggregating and tracking rising casualty tolls and attributing deaths and injuries to specific strikes, means that AOAV’s January data for Gaza is, as it stands, likely to be a significant undercounting.
All civilian casualties recorded occurred in populated areas.
| Event Location | Civilian Casualties |
|---|---|
| Urban residential areas | 50% (551) |
| Encampments | 29% (325) |
| Schools | 14% (156) |
| Places of worship | 1% (13) |
| Entertainment | 1% (12) |
| Humanitarian infrastructure | 1% (10) |
| Transport related infrastructure | 1% (9) |
| Public buildings | 1% (6) |
| Hospitals | >1% (5) |
| Agricultural land | >1% (4) |
| Police stations | >1% (4) |
| Multiple (urban) | >1% (3) |
| Roads | >1% (2) |
| Villages | >1% (1) |
| Commercial premises | >1% (1) |
The regions in which civilian casualties were reported in Gaza in January are:
| Region | Civilian casualties |
| North | 590 |
| Central | 297 |
| South | 219 |
All recorded civilian casualties were caused by state actors’ use of explosive weapons, specifically Israel.
Explosive weapon launch method:
| Launch method | Civilian casualties |
| Air launched weapons | 94% of civilian casualties: – Air strikes (1,033) – Air-dropped bombs (3) |
| Ground launched weapons | 5% of civilian casualties – Non-specific shelling (37) – Artillery shelling (18) – Tank shelling (5) |
| Weapons of unclear launch method | >1% of civilian casualties – Missiles (10) |
The number of civilian casualties of explosive weapon use in Gaza in January 2025 decreased compared to levels recorded in December 2024 due to the ceasefire deal implemented on 15 January between Israel and Hamas. In December 2024, 306 incidents resulted in 1,857 civilian casualties (1,186 killed, 671 injured). In November, AOAV recorded 277 incidents and 1,915 civilian casualties, of whom 1,423 were killed and 492 injured.
UKRAINE
In January 2025, there were 242 recorded incidents of explosive weapon use in Ukraine, 239 of which caused 869 civilian casualties, 133 of whom were killed and 736 injured. Civilian casualties included at least 30 children, 111 women and 148 men. Overall, civilians accounted for 99% of all 879 casualties recorded in Ukraine in January, as there were also 10 reported armed-actor casualties, of whom 4 were killed and 6 injured.
99% (796) of civilian casualties occurred in populated areas:
| Event Location | Civilian Casualties |
| Urban residential areas | 52% (416) |
| Multiple (urban) | 35% (282) |
| Villages | 8% (62) |
| Public transport | 3% (20) |
| Commercial premises | 1% (7) |
| Humanitarian infrastructure | 1% (6) |
| Transport related infrastructure | >1% (2) |
| Place of worship | >1% (1) |
The oblasts in which civilian casualties were reported in Ukraine in January:
| Oblast | Civilian casualties |
| Kherson | 249 |
| Zaporizhizhia | 226 |
| Donetsk | 137 |
| Sumy | 62 |
| Dnipropetrovsk | 56 |
| Kharkiv | 55 |
| Kyiv | 33 |
| Chernihiv | 26 |
| Odesa | 15 |
| Mykolaiv | 6 |
| Tambov | 3 |
| Zhytomyr | 1 |
The majority of recorded civilian casualties (99.6%) were attributed to state actors’ use of explosive weapons, specifically Russia (865 civilian casualties), and Ukraine (3). Actors of unknown name and status caused less than 1% (1) of civilian casualties.
Explosive weapon launch method:
| Launch method | Civilian casualties |
| Air launched weapons | 54% of civilian casualties: – Air strikes (462) – Air-dropped bombs (5) |
| Ground launched weapons | 32% of civilian casualties – Non-specific shelling (220) – Artillery shelling (44) – Ground-launched rockets (5) – Mortars (3) – Grenades (1) – Multiple explosive weapons (1) |
| Weapons of unclear launch method | 13% of civilian casualties – Missiles (90) – Rockets (19) |
| Combined explosive weapons | 2% of civilian casualties (17) |
| Mines | >1% of civilian casualties – Anti-personnel mines (2) |
The number of civilian casualties of explosive weapon use in Ukraine in January 2025 increased compared to levels recorded in December, when 221 incidents caused 586 civilian casualties, 100 of whom were killed and 486 injured. In November, 208 incidents were recorded, which caused 1,014 civilian casualties (152 killed, 862 injured).
SUDAN
In January 2025, there were 23 recorded incidents of explosive weapon use in Sudan, which caused 636 civilian casualties, 316 of whom were killed and 320 injured. Civilian casualties included at least 3 children, 12 women and 3 men. Overall, civilians accounted for all casualties recorded in Sudan in January.
All 636 civilian casualties reported occurred in populated areas.
| Event Location | Civilian Casualties |
| Urban residential areas | 48% (308) |
| Hospital | 27% (174) |
| Encampment | 22% (142) |
| Village | 1% (9) |
| Market | >1% (3) |
The states in which civilian casualties were reported in Sudan in January are:
| Region | Civilian casualties |
| North Darfur | 366 |
| Khartoum | 242 |
| South Darfur | 28 |
Non-state actors, specifically the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), caused 82% (524) of civilian casualties. Whereas state actors, specifically Sudan, accounted for 17% (109) of civilian casualties. Actors of unknown name and status accounted for 1% (3) of civilian casualties.
Explosive weapon launch method:
| Launch method | Civilian casualties |
| Ground launched weapons | 59% of civilian casualties – Non-specific shelling (258) – Artillery shelling (117) |
| Air launched weapons | 41% of civilian casualties: – Air strikes (261) |
Civilian casualties of explosive weapon use in Sudan in January 2025 decreased slightly compared to December, when 28 incidents caused 751 reported civilian casualties (401 killed, 350 injured). In November, 15 incidents of explosive weapon use were recorded, which resulted in 467 reported civilian casualties (196 killed, 271 injured).
MYANMAR
In January 2025, there were 32 recorded incidents of explosive weapon use in Myanmar, 30 of which caused 347 civilian casualties, 190 of whom were killed and 157 injured. Civilian casualties included at least 26 children, 51 women and 19 men. Overall, civilians accounted for 91% of all 170 casualties recorded in Myanmar in January, as there were also 36 armed-actor casualties, of whom 13 were killed and 23 injured.
99.9% (346) of civilian casualties occurred in populated areas.
| Event Location | Civilian Casualties |
| Village | 55% (190) |
| Multiple (urban) | 21% (73) |
| Other | 7% (25) |
| Hospital | 7% (23) |
| School | 5% (17) |
| Urban residential | 4% (15) |
| Encampment | 1% (3) |
The regions in which civilian casualties were reported in Myanmar in January are:
| Region | Civilian casualties |
| Rakhine | 159 |
| Kachin | 61 |
| Sagaing | 44 |
| Shan | 40 |
| Mandalay | 18 |
| Magway | 11 |
| Mon | 5 |
| Karen | 4 |
| Kayah | 3 |
| Tanintharyi | 2 |
State actors, specifically Myanmar, accounted for 96% (333) of civilian casualties. Actors of unknown name and status accounted for 2% (8) of civilian casualties. Non-state actors, specifically the People’s Defence Force (PDF) also caused 2% (6) of civilian casualties.
Explosive weapon launch method:
| Launch method | Civilian casualties |
| Air launched weapons | 94% of civilian casualties: – Air strikes (322) – Air-dropped bombs (5) |
| Ground launched weapons | 4% of civilian casualties – Artillery shelling (10) – Non-specific shelling (3) |
| Mines | 1% of civilian casualties – Landmines (5) |
| Combined explosive weapons | >1% of civilian casualties (1) |
| IEDs | >1% of civilian casualties – Non-specific IEDs (1) |
The number of civilian casualties of explosive weapon use in Myanmar in January 2025 increased significantly compared to levels recorded in December, when 30 incidents caused 157 civilian casualties, 50 of whom were killed and 107 injured. In November, 29 incidents were recorded, which caused 198 civilian casualties (111 killed, 87 injured).
SYRIA
In January 2025, there were 75 incidents of explosive weapon use recorded in Syria, 46 of which resulted in 318 civilian casualties, 82 of whom were killed and 236 injured. Civilian casualties included at least 37 children, 18 women, and 16 men. Overall, civilians accounted for 67% of all 472 casualties recorded in Syria in January, as 154 armed actor casualties were also recorded, including 87 killed and 67 injured.
90% (287) of civilian casualties occurred in populated areas.
| Event Location | Civilian Casualties |
| Other | 25% (72) |
| Village | 20% (57) |
| Urban residential | 12% (34) |
| Market | 11% (33) |
| Road | 10% (28) |
| Multiple (urban) | 9% (27) |
| Public gathering | 6% (17) |
| School | 4% (12) |
| Commercial premises | 2% (7) |
The states in which civilian casualties were recorded in Syria in January are:
| Region | Civilian casualties |
| Aleppo | 280 |
| Hasakah | 12 |
| Quneitra | 7 |
| Raqqa | 7 |
| Deir Ezzor | 6 |
| Idlib | 2 |
| Suweida | 2 |
| Hama | 1 |
| Homs | 1 |
State actors accounted for 77% of civilian casualties, specifically Turkey (236 civilian casualties), Israel (7), Turkey (74) and the US-led coalition (2).
Non-state actors accounted for 19% (61) of civilian casualties, specifically the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) (33), unknown non-state actors (27) and Al-Jafaifah (1). Actors of unknown name and status accounted for 4% (12) of civilian casualties.
Explosive weapon launch method:
| Launch method | Civilian casualties |
| Air launched weapons | 70% of civilian casualties: – Air strikes (218) – Air-dropped bombs (6) |
| Ground launched weapons | 15% of civilian casualties – Ground-launched rockets (27) – Artillery shelling (9) – Non-specific shelling (7) – Grenades (6) |
| IEDs | 11% of civilian casualties – Car bomb (31) – Non-specific IEDs (3) |
| Weapons of unclear launch method | 2% of civilian casualties – Rockets (7) |
| Mines | 1% of civilian casualties – Landmine (4) |
Civilian casualties of explosive weapon use in Syria in January 2025 decreased compared to December, when 98 incidents caused 555 reported civilian casualties, 244 of whom were killed and 311 injured. In November, 102 incidents were recorded, which resulted in 399 civilian casualties (118 killed, 281 injured).
AOAV condemns the use of violence against civilians and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. All actors should stop using explosive weapons with wide-area effects where there is likely to be a high concentration of civilians.
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