The Global Explosive Violence Monitor report, produced by the Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), shows that civilians were the main object of violence in 2024, with 61,353 deaths, doubling the number of civilians killed in 2023. This trend is also reflected in the total number of victims, including military personnel with 10,120 reported incidents (+39%).Data was collected by AOAV from more than 400 English-language media sources. However, figures may be even higher because of the difficulties of reporting from conflict zones. The increase is mainly due to Israel, which has been identified by AOAV as "the single largest perpetrator of civilian harm in 2024" Attacks to Gaza, Lebanon and Syria led to a 139% increase in civilian harm compared to the previous year. Russia is the second country more responsible for this increase with 19% of civilian casualties, and Myanmar is the third with 5%. Among the countries involved in the current conflicts there is also Sudan.
The report explains that the majority of damage is caused by air strikes, which have increased by 1,175% compared to a decade ago. The total number of incidents caused by air strikes increased by 260% compared to 2014. 85% of civilians killed or injured are in populated areas. AOAV reports that the damage caused by these weapons doesn't stop at the point of impact, but continues as infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and homes are completely destroyed or rendered unusable. The psychological trauma is also taken into account, as most of the victims who survived the attack are plagued by long-term effects that add to the physical trauma.
ReliefWeb confirms that the increase in these explosive attacks is linked to arms sales. In fact, in 2024 in the US these sales peaked at "$318.7 billion, a 29% increase over the previous year, according to the US State Department". This increase is linked to the conflicts mentioned above, but also to the fact that countries are also stockpiling weapons. The use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) fell by 27%, which explains part of the trend. On the other hand, the US has also signed arms deals with Turkey and Romania to improve regional security. However, the AOAV report is skeptical of this decision, highlighting the human cost of these deals.
Ian Overton, Executive Director of AOAV, said: 'The international community cannot ignore the scale of the damage being done. Urgent action is needed to hold perpetrators to account and implement measures to protect civilians".
To read more, please visit:
- What do we do? - AOAV
- Global civilian casualties from explosive weapons surge in 2024 by 67%, hitting record highs - AOAV
- Record arms sales fuel global explosive violence surge, AOAV reports - World | ReliefWeb
- Iain Overton
