US military killed 132 civilians globally in 2019: Pentagon
One hundred thirty-two civilians were killed last year in US global military operations, the army said Wednesday, a number less than those published by NGOs.
The Department of Defense "assesses that there have been approximately 132 civilians killed and approximately 91 civilians injured during 2019 because of this of US military procedures in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Somalia," the Pentagon said within an total annual report mandated by the united states Congress.
The report added that the DoD "didn't identify any civilian casualties caused by US military functions in Yemen and Libya" this past year.
The most civilian victims were in Afghanistan, with 108 deaths and 75 injured, the Pentagon said.
In Iraq and Syria, the Pentagon took responsibility in the death of 22 civilians and the injury of another 13.
Only two civilians were killed and three injured in Somalia, in line with the military.
Multiple NGOs regularly publish far higher death tolls of American strikes in war zones.
The NGO Airwars, which tracks civilian victims of aerial bombardments all over the world, estimated there have been between 465 and 1,113 civilians killed in Syria alone by the US-backed coalition last year.
"The Department of Defense's submission of this year's report marks some progress regarding transparency folks military operations," said Daphne Eviatar of the US chapter of Amnesty International.
"This content of the report, however, shows that the Pentagon continues to be undercounting civilian casualties," she said.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also criticised the report. ACLU director Hina Shamsi echoed that US President Donald Trump's administration is "undercounting" the amount of civilians killed or injured overseas.
"Compared to credible independent media accounts and rights groups' investigations, it really is clear that the Pentagon's investigations remain woefully inadequate," she said in a statement.--AFP
