Pentagon Publishes New Guidance to Limit Civilian War Casualties, Acknowledge When US at Fault

The document also lays out instructions for assessing potential harm to civilians following military operations.

Boys inspect wreckage from a drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sept. 18, 2021. Hoshang Hashimi/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. military is getting new guidance on how to avoid causing civilian casualties in wartime.

On Thursday, the Department of Defense published its “Instruction on Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response.” The 52-page document instructs various DoD component organizations to designate personnel to identify relevant practices to reduce civilian harm and provides further instructions on how to respond when U.S. military actions do result in civilian casualties.