Civilian Targeting Operation
A Civilian Targeting Operation is a military operation involving the deliberate targeting of civilian populations or infrastructure in a conflict zone.
- Context:
- It can (typically) violate International Humanitarian Law by intentionally directing attacks against civilians.
- It can (often) be employed to terrorize, demoralize, or displace populations to achieve strategic objectives, as seen in certain Asymmetric Warfare contexts.
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- It can range from being a small-scale operation in local conflicts to being part of a larger-scale State-Sponsored Campaign.
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- It can involve the use of Conventional Weapons or Cyber Operations targeting civilian infrastructure like utilities, transportation, or communications systems.
- It can result in severe humanitarian crises, including mass displacement, loss of life, and long-term socioeconomic damage.
- It can provoke widespread international condemnation and potential legal consequences under the Geneva Conventions or other treaties governing the laws of war.
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- Example(s):
- Bosnian Serb Siege of Sarajevo (1992-1996), where Bosnian Serb forces besieged the city of Sarajevo, targeting civilians through artillery attacks and sniper attacks.
- Bombing of Guernica (1937), where the German Luftwaffe bombed the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War, deliberately targeting civilian populations.
- Nanjing Massacre (1937-1938), where Imperial Japanese forces massacred civilians in Nanjing, China during the Second Sino-Japanese War, killing hundreds of thousands.
- Operation Rolling Thunder (1965-1968), where U.S. military forces conducted a bombing campaign in North Vietnam, leading to extensive civilian casualties.
- Siege of Mariupol (2022), where Russian military forces besieged the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, heavily bombing civilian infrastructure and causing widespread casualties.
- Deir Yassin Massacre (1948), where Zionist paramilitary groups killed approximately 100 civilians in the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
- Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1945), where the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians.
- Wounded Knee Massacre (1890), where U.S. military forces killed around 300 civilians, primarily Lakota Native Americans, in South Dakota.
- Holodomor (1932-1933), where Soviet policies under Joseph Stalin caused a man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine, leading to the deaths of millions of civilians.
- Sabra and Shatila Massacre (1982), where the Phalangist militia, with the complicity of the Israeli Defense Forces, killed hundreds to thousands of civilians in Palestinian refugee camps.
- Bombing of Dresden (1945), where Allied forces bombed the German city of Dresden, causing widespread destruction and civilian deaths.
- Aleppo Bombings (2012-2016), where Syrian and Russian forces bombed civilian areas in Aleppo, Syria, resulting in large-scale loss of life and destruction of infrastructure.
- Rwandan Genocide (1994), where Hutu extremists targeted Tutsi civilians in Rwanda, resulting in the deaths of approximately 800,000 civilians.
- Gaza Conflict (2021), where Israeli airstrikes targeted civilian infrastructure and residential buildings in Gaza, leading to significant civilian casualties.
- Babi Yar Massacre (1941), where Nazi forces executed over 33,000 Jewish civilians in the Babi Yar ravine near Kyiv, Ukraine, during World War II.
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- Counter-Example(s):
- Military Targeting Operations that focus solely on military personnel, facilities, or equipment.
- Peacekeeping Operations, which aim to protect civilians and prevent conflict escalation rather than targeting non-combatants.
- See: War Crime, International Humanitarian Law, Asymmetric Warfare.