Last week, more than 80 countries endorsed a new international commitment to address one of the greatest threats to civilians during armed conflict: the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

An analysis of one of the American-made weapons deployed by the IDF – the Mk-84 – a 2,000-pound general-purpose air-dropped bomb that can be fitted with a guidance kit.

Four bombs exploded in Afghanistan on Wednesday 25 May, leaving 16 people dead and over 33 injured. Three of the attacks have been claimed by ISIS. This is the latest in a string of explosive violence incidents in Afghanistan since April, many of which have been claimed by ISIS.

In April 2022, Action on Armed Violence recorded 2, 143 deaths and injuries from 237 incidents of explosive violence around the world, as reported in English-language media. Civilians accounted for 80% (1, 722) of the deaths and injuries recorded.

This article was first published by Vocativ. It was written by Shane Dixon Kavanaugh on 23 September 2015, and can be read here.  Airstrikes, tank shells and IEDs used by both sides in Yemen’s ongoing war are wiping out an alarming number of innocent people, according to a new report By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh on […]

Courtesy of INEW. The humanitarian impact of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, and the action that states should take towards improving civilian protection from the grave humanitarian harm caused, were discussed at an INEW side event to the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings on 26 June, chaired by Richard Moyes of INEW […]

Conclusion More civilian casualties, from more incidents of explosive violence, were recorded in 2014 than in any of the three previous years that AOAV has been monitoring explosive weapon use. 2014 is the third consecutive year in which there has been a reported rise in civilian casualties from explosive weapons, up 5% from 2013 and […]

Ground-launched explosive weapons Ground-launched explosive weapons were responsible for 8,088 civilian casualties in 2014 (25% of the total recorded). 90% of casualties were civilians. This is higher than the proportion recorded from IED attacks (85%), and aerial attacks (61%). Mortars caused 3,000 civilian casualties in 15 countries. This is a 53% increase from 2013. Six […]

Explosive weapons in populated areas In 2014, 92% of casualties in populated areas were reported as civilians. This is compared to 34% in other areas.  On average 16 people were killed or injured in every incident of explosive weapon use in populated areas. In other areas in 2014 the average number was four. 4,245 civilians […]

Introduction “Ultimately, civilians in Syria, Gaza, Israel, Afghanistan, Libya, eastern Ukraine and other conflict hotspots pay the price when the shells aimed at military targets end up hitting homes, hospitals and schools. This simply has to stop. These explosive weapons are designed for open battlefields, not built-up urban areas […] This is not about the […]

Read the full report here Numbers of people globally killed or injuredTotal number of casualties: 41,847Total number of people killed: 17,028Total number of people injured: 24,819 CiviliansNumber of civilians killed: 10,630Number of civilians injured: 22,03278% of those killed or injured were civilians Armed ActorsNumber of armed actors killed: 6,398Number of armed actors injured: 2,787 Populated […]

Iraq’s Prime Minister has called on the country’s armed forces to stop shelling populated areas as they seek to recapture territory lost to Islamic State militants, known as Isis. Speaking at a conference for the thousands of Iraqis who have been forcibly displaced in the wave of violence that has swept the country this year, […]