**NOTE:** This is **not** intended to be a politically biased question, only one where I want to be more informed about military tactics and the general guidelines surrounding combat. Thank you.
Is it actually possible for armies to reduce civilian casualties? Considering how effective weapons are (both missiles and chemical) and how dense civilian areas are, how do armies try to mitigate those casualties? What is the difference between an action that is considered a part of war or a war crime?
In: Technology
Armies can adopt “rules of engagement” that reduce the overall number of civilian casualties. For example in Afghanistan under Obama, the US only used airpower to attack forces that were “proximate” to US or allied forces. In other words only drop bombs on positions where someone is firing at you (or sneaking into position to do so). That doesn’t cut casualties to zero because sometimes those people are firing at you from a house containing civilians and the law of armed conflict doesn’t prevent forces under attack from firing back. In 2017 the US relaxed this rule, and according to some sources civilian casualties soared
[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55225827](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55225827)
It is also possible for militaries to provide safe corridors for civilians to evacuate and limit the kinds of ordnance used in crowded neighborhoods.
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