On August 24th 2020, two suicide bombings on Jolo Island in the Philippines left at least 14 killed and 75 others injured.
In total seven soldiers, one police officer and six civilians were killed and 21 soldier, six police officers and 48 civilians were injured.
The first bomber detonated near the town plaza and a second detonated near the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – the site of a suicide blast last year which killed at least 23.
Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) records casualties (i.e. people killed and injured) from explosive violence around the world as reported in English-language news sources.
Last year, AOAV recorded 360 casualties from explosive violence across the Philippines, including 236 civilian casualties. The level of civilian casualties from explosive violence recorded last year in the Philippines, reflects a 23% rise in civilian casualties.
Of the total civilian casualties recorded in 2019, 82% were caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs). 126 civilians were killed or injured by the suicide attack which targeted the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in January 2019.
AOAV calls for states and international organisations to work collaboratively to generate greater awareness of the number of civilians killed and injured each year by IEDs, and encourage a greater stigma from political, religious and social leaders on the use of IEDs. There is an urgent need for preventative measures to be implemented by States and the international community.