Lebanon

Casualties

Last updated: 13 July 2017

 Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end of 2016

At least 3,747 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties (907 killed; 2,840 injured)

Casualties occurring in 2016

7 (2015: 17)

2016 casualties by survival outcome

7 injured (2015: 2 killed; 15 injured)

2016 casualties by device type

2 antipersonnel mines, 3 ERW, 1 unexploded submunition, 1 undifferentiated mine/ERW

 

In 2016, the Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC) identified seven mine/ERW casualties. Six casualties were men and one was a boy. No female casualties were recorded in 2016 (or since 2014). Four of the casualties were Lebanese and three were foreign nationals, two of whom were Syrian refugees.[1]

The seven casualties identified in 2016 marked a significant decrease from the 17 casualties identified in 2015, the 16 casualties identified in 2014, and the 24 casualties identified in 2013. Annual mine/ERW casualty rates have declined significantly from the 98 casualties in the year 2000, except for a spike in casualties between August and December 2006 immediately following the July 2006 bombing, shelling, and cluster munition attacks on southern Lebanon by Israel.[2]

The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Lebanon recorded from 1975 to December 2016 was 3,747.[3]. Between 2006 and 2016 LMAC reported that there were 481 casualties (58 killed and 423 injured). Of these, 332 were adults and 149 were children. Ninety-three percent (447) were male and 7% (34) were female. Thirty-eight were caused by mines, 46 by ERW, 333 by unexploded submunitions, and 64 by unknown devices.[4]

Cluster munition casualties

LMAC reported one unexploded submunition casualty for 2016, which is a significant decrease from the 13 reported in 2015. Through December 2016, the Monitor had identified 734 cluster munition casualties, including those recorded by LMAC. Little data is available on casualties that occurred during cluster munition strikes; only 16 (three killed; 13 injured) were identified.[5] LMAC data for the same time period indicated 685 casualties (157 killed; 528 injured) from unexploded submunitions, of which 19% (132) were children at the time of the incident.[6] From 2006 to end 2016, LMAC recorded 333 cluster munition casualties (40 killed; 293 injured), of which 30% (101) were children at the time of the incident.[7]



[1] Emails from Brig. Gen. Ziad Nasr, Director, LMAC, 2 June 2017, and 24 June 2017.

[2] Between August and December of 2006, 209 casualties were recorded. Presentation of Lebanon, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Side Event, Geneva, 28 June 2011.

[3] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Brig. Gen. Elie Nassif, LMAC, 7 July 2016; and statement of Lebanon, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Lusaka, 10 September 2013.

[4] Email from Brig. Gen. Nasr, LMAC, 2 June 2017.

[5] Prior to July 2006, 338 casualties occurred, and 369 casualties occurred between August 2006 and December 2011. It was not clear if the casualties during use were included in this total. Handicap International (HI), Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (Brussels: HI, May 2007), p. 121; Patrick Galey, “Living without a leg,” Bikya Masr (Nabatieh), 14 November 2009; and email from Col. Rolly Fares, LMAC, 30 March 2012.

[6] Emails from Col. Fares, LMAC, 30 March 2012; from Brig. Gen. Imad Odeimi, LMAC, 9 July 2013; and from Brig. Gen. Nassif, LMAC, 13 May 2015; Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2015), Form H; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Habbouba Aoun, Landmine Resource Center at the University of Balamand, 22 June 2016.

[7] Email from Brig. Gen. Nasr, LMAC, 24 June 2017.