CRN member Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) has released its annual monitoring report on explosive violence worldwide, analysing the global harm from the use of explosive weapons including missiles, artillery and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The report reveals a 15% increase in civilian deaths and injuries from explosive weapons compared to the previous year.
KEY FINDINGS
- Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Lebanon were the most affected countries in the world. More than a third of the world’s civilian casualties from explosive weapons were recorded in Iraq, where AOAV saw a dramatic escalation in bombings with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
- Seventy-one percent (71%) of civilian casualties from explosive weapons worldwide were caused by IEDs like car bombs and roadside bombs.
- Civilian casualties in Iraq increased by 91% from 2012, with more than 12,000 deaths and injuries recorded in the country in 2013.
- Market places were bombed in 15 countries and territories, causing 3,608 civilian casualties.
- Ballistic missiles, used only in Syria, caused an average of 49 civilian casualties per incident, the highest for any explosive weapon type
