The Libyan Mine Action Center (LibMAC) and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) collected information on casualties. However, due to the ongoing conflict the national casualty surveillance system was not fully functional.[2] It is therefore likely that casualties went unreported. Notably, almost all the data collected from the three sources— LibMAC, UNSMIL, and the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)—was unique. Monitor analysis showed little duplication of mine/ERW casualties reported.

The 184 casualties identified in 2017 represents a significant decrease from the 1,610 casualties reported for 2016. However, the ICRC, which provided most of the data for 2016 (1,465), did not provide information on mine/ERW casualties for 2017. It was also a decrease on the 1,004 casualties identified in 2015. Moreover, Handicap International (HI, now Humanity & Inclusion), which provided most of the data for 2015 (935 casualties), was unable to collect data in 2016.[3] The 2015 and 2016 figures are both significant increases on the 10 casualties identified in 2014. Due to the security situation, many operators were forced to leave Libya, therefore mine/ERW casualties in 2014 went largely unrecorded. In addition, some casualty data was lost. Limited data was available in 2014 and was known to be incomplete.[4] It is likely that many more casualties occurred. The previous highest annual total was recorded in 2011 when 222 mine/ERW casualties were identified.

*The total number of casualties over time in Libya is not known as many estimates predate the 2011 conflict. The Libyan Demining Association (LDA) and the Libyan Civil Defense Department had registered 1,852 mine casualties by the end of 2006.[5] 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.[6]

Cluster munition casualties

The total number of cluster munition casualties in Libya is not known. There were no cluster munition casualties reported for 2017. Three casualties from unexploded cluster submunitions were reported in 2016. No casualties from unexploded submunitions or cluster munition attacks were reported in 2015, and one casualty from a submunition was identified in 2014. There were unconfirmed reports of unexploded submunition casualties in 2011.

It is possible that some unexploded submunition casualties were reported as mine/ERW casualties, due to a lack of disaggregated data or because it was not possible to distinguish the specific types of explosive remnants that caused those casualties.

There was no available information on cluster munition casualties during cluster munition attacks in Libya.