From 1 March to 31 March 2017, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) documented 24 civilian casualties - 20 deaths and 4 injuries - during the conduct of hostilities across Libya. Victims included 9 men killed and 3 injured, 6 women killed and 1 injured, and 3 children killed. The gender of two killed adult civilians is unknown.
Civilian Casualties
The majority of civilian casualties were caused by gunfire (11 deaths, 2 injured). Other causes were airstrikes (4 deaths, 1 injured) and shelling (3 deaths). Two civilians were killed when a military plane crashed. One civilian was injured as a result of an Explosive Remnant of War (ERW).
UNSMIL documented 8 deaths and 2 injuries in Benghazi, 5 deaths in Tripoli, 3 deaths in Ras Lanouf, 1 death and 1 injury in al-Zawiya, 2 deaths in Tobruk, 1 death in Sabha, and 1 injury in Nofliya. All victims were Libyan, with the exception of a Nigerian man killed in crossfire between armed groups in Sabha.
The civilian casualties included a 14-year-old girl and two other civilians killed on 14 March as a result of indiscriminate fire during clashes between armed groups in Tripoli. There were further civilian casualties from the Ganfouda neighbourhood of Benghazi, including a woman who died in airstrikes on 6 March. On 18 March, 7 civilians (4 women, 2 children and 1 elderly man) were killed and 1 woman injured as they were fleeing Block 12 in Ganfouda, controlled by the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council (BRSC) and surrounded by the Libyan National Army (LNA).
The month of March also witnessed attacks on banks in Tripoli. On 8 March, a man was fatally wounded in the vicinity of the al-Aman Bank. On 28 March, a security guard at the National Commercial Bank was shot dead.
On 4 March, the Ras Lanouf Medical Centre was hit in airstrikes, which resulted in the deaths of two male ambulance drivers and another man accompanying a patient. The airstrikes caused some material damage and the destruction of two ambulances parked outside. The Medical Centre reopened on 26 March once repairs were completed.
On 14 March, the al-Khadhra Hospital in Tripoli was hit twice by indiscriminate fire, causing damage to the maternity ward and Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Attribution
While no one claimed responsibility for the airstrikes, information gathered indicated that the LNA and allies carried out the airstrikes that caused civilian casualties and damage to civilian objects in Benghazi, Nofliya and Ras Lanouf. UNSMIL was unable to determine with certainty which parties to the conflict caused the other civilian casualties in March.