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Libya

Last Updated: 14 September 2011

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2010

Unknown; estimates ranging from 1,852 to 12,258 mine/ERW casualties

Casualties in 2010

1 (2009: 12)

2010 casualties by outcome

1 injured (2009: 7 killed; 5 injured)

2010 casualties by device type

1 unknown explosive device

In 2010, the Monitor identified one new mine/explosive remnant of war (ERW) casualty in Libya. In January, an Egyptian man was injured by an unknown explosive device while in Libya.[1] Though only one casualty was confirmed for 2010, the Monitor expected there were more incidents that went unreported. Due to the ongoing conflict, it was difficult to gather information in Libya. In 2009, the Monitor identified 12 casualties in a single mine incident.[2]

The number of casualties from mine/ERW, including cluster munition remnants, is expected to be significantly higher in 2011. According to ICRC, over a period of six weeks in 2011, there were 13 reported casualties from ERW in Misrata alone.[3]

The total number of casualties in Libya is not known. The Libyan Demining Association (LDA)[4] and the Libyan Civil Defense Department had registered 1,852 mine casualties by the end of 2006. Previous estimates were approximately 12,000, with the Libyan police reporting 11,845 casualties between 1940 and 1995 (6,749 killed; 5,096 injured) and the Libyan Jihad Center for Historical Studies reporting 12,258 (3,874 killed; 8,384 injured) between 1952 and 1975.[5]

 



[1] “Information collected by Protection and Mine Action and Human Rights Foundation in Egypt,” by email from Ayman Sorour, Director, Protection, 11 April 2011.

[2] “Gambia: 7 Gambians Die in Sahara Desert…as Vehicle Hits Landmine,” The Daily Observer (Banjul), 19 February 2009, observer.gm; and Nfamara Jawneh, “Seven Gambian Youths Die along Niger-Libya Border,” The Point (Banjul), 19 February 2009, thepoint.gm.

[3] UNICEF,“UNICEF Situation Report # 19 – Sub-regional Libya crisis,” 29 June 2011, reliefweb.int.

[4] The LDA, part of the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation (GICDF), was formerly known as the Anti-Mines Association.

[5] Ahmed Besharah, “World War II mines planted in Libya and its socio-economic impact,” Libyan Jihad Center for Historical Studies, Tripoli, 1995, p.153.