From 1 January to 29 February 2016, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) documented 66 civilian casualties, including 28 deaths and 38 injuries, during the conduct of hostilities across Libya. Victims included 5 children killed and 7 injured, 17 men killed and 31 injured, and 6 women killed with no injuries recorded.
The majority of deaths and injuries were caused by shelling, including mortars, artillery and other indirect weapons, (16 deaths, 26 injuries), while the next leading cause was gun shots (6 deaths, 10 injuries) and explosive remnants of war (4 deaths and 1 injury), aerial bombardments (2 deaths) and suicide attack (1 injury).
UNSMIL documented 14 deaths and 14 injured in Benghazi, 6 deaths in Ajdabiya, 3 deaths in Derna, 2 deaths and 16 injured in Sabha, 1 death and 6 injured in al-Marj, 1 death and 1 injured in Tripoli, 1 death in Tobruk and 1 injured in Ras Lanuf.
Due to limited access and the multiple parties engaged in the conflict, who did not take responsibility for particular incidents, UNSMIL was unable to determine with certainty which party caused these civilian casualties. The figures do not include the deaths of two Serbian diplomats, whose bodies were found following the 19 February air strike by the United States of America in Sabratha as there is still uncertainty as to how these deaths occurred, and investigations are still ongoing.
UNSMIL also documented two attacks on civilian facilities. On 7 February, a hospital in Derna was hit during aerial bombing, causing damage to the facility, as well as two deaths. On 9 January, an electricity plant in Benghazi was shelled, causing blackouts in the city.
