Today, the Department of Defense released the Annual Report on Civilian Casualties in Connection with United States Military Operations in 2023.
The submission to Congress and public release of this report is in fulfillment of Section 1057 of the FY18 National Defense Appropriations Act, as amended, which requires the Department to complete an annual report on civilian casualties in connection with U.S. military operations in the previous year. The report lists each civilian casualty caused as the result of United States military operations by date, location, operation type (air or ground), and the number of civilians injured or killed. It also lists the processes for assessing reports of civilian casualties, the processes for considering whether to offer ex gratia payments, and the steps that the U.S. takes to mitigate civilian casualties.
The report states that the DoD assessed that two U.S. military operations during 2023 resulted in civilian casualties. Also, the report updates the number of civilian casualties assessed to have occurred in 2021, based on reports that were assessed after the date of the last year's annual report. The updates to the previously reported figures for 2021 increase the total numbers of civilian casualties by one civilian killed and three additional civilians injured.
The Annual Report on Civilian Casualties in Connection with U.S. Military Operations in 2023 can be found here.
The latest information on the Department's Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response efforts can be found here.
