U.S. Africa Command Quarterly Civilian Harm Assessment Report

Source: United States AFRICOM

U.S. Africa Command publishes quarterly reports on the command’s unclassified, publicly accessible website that provide information on the status and results of reviews, assessments, and investigations relating to civilian harm in accordance with Department of Defense Instruction 3000.17 “Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response.” 

In the latest quarterly civilian harm assessment report period ending March 31, 2025, U.S. Africa Command did not receive any new reports of civilian harm, closed one assessment, and carried over one open report from previous quarters 

U.S. Africa Command takes all reports of possible civilian harm seriously and has a process to conduct thorough reviews and assessments using all available information. 

Discrepancies between U.S. Africa Command Civilian Harm Assessment Report and Other Organizations’ Reports

U.S. Africa Command civilian harm assessment reports occasionally differ from other organizations’ reports, including those by non-governmental organizations, for a number of reasons. The command’s reviews rely on a variety of sources, including open-source information and information from reliable and multi-layered intelligence sources, as well as classified operational reporting, some of which is not accessible to the public. This can contribute to perceived discrepancies between the command’s assessments and those of others

Definition of “civilian” and “combatant”

When assessing reports of civilian harm, DoD considers whether any members of the civilian population were wounded or killed as a direct result of U.S. military operations. For the purposes of such assessments, DoD does not include members of the civilian population who have forfeited the protections of civilian status by engaging in hostilities. Information about different classes of persons under the law of war, including “civilians” and “combatants,” can be found in Chapter IV of the DoD Law of War Manual (June 2015, Updated December 2023), which is available at: https://ogc.osd.mil/Portals/99/Law%20of%20War%202023/DOD-LAW-OF-WAR-MANUAL-JUNE-2015-UPDATED-JULY%202023.pdf?ver=Qbxamfouw4znu1I7DVMcsw%3d%3d

U.S. Africa Command 2nd Quarter FY2025 Civilian Harm Assessment Report Summary of Results

It is U.S. Africa Command’s policy to reevaluate reports of civilian harm should previously unassessed relevant information become available and a review of the new information indicates it could change the previously approved results or if other issues emerge that cast significant doubts on the accuracy of the previously approved assessment’s results. Absent new information, the below assessments are final and complete.

Completed Assessments

In response to information provided by civil society organizations, and after an initial review of that information, U.S. Africa Command initiated a new investigation into an April 1, 2018 airstrike near El Burr, Somalia.  U.S. Africa Command had previously acknowledged that two civilians were regrettably and unintentionally killed in the strike. The new investigation concluded that it is more likely than not that an additional civilian was killed in the strike, whose death was previously unknown to the command.  U.S. Africa Command regrets this inadvertent loss of life and offers its sincerest condolences to the families and individuals affected.  U.S. Africa Command remains committed to minimizing harm to civilians and will continue to take all feasible precautions to prevent such incidents in the future.  

Additional details about this incident will not be publicly released to protect surviving family members.

Open Assessments

U.S. Africa Command had one open assessment during this quarter. Information on that assessment will be included in the quarterly report following its completion.