# Free-fire zone > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Free-fire_zone > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Free-fire_zone.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-fire_zone > Source revision: 1348394741 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Area into which any weapon system may fire without additional coordination A **free-fire zone** is an area in which any person present is deemed an enemy combatant who can be targeted by opposing military forces. The concept of a free-fire zone does not exist in international law, and failing to distinguish between combatants and civilians is a [war crime](/source/War_crime).[1] ## World War II General [Chuck Yeager](/source/Chuck_Yeager) in his autobiography describes his (and his associates') disapproval of shoot-anything-that-moves low level [strafing](/source/Strafing) missions during [World War II](/source/World_War_II) (although they were not necessarily called "free-fire zone" missions). He described his feeling that, had the U.S. lost the war, it might have been considered criminal.[2] ## Vietnam War See also: [Vietnam War body count controversy](/source/Vietnam_War_body_count_controversy) Returning veterans, affected civilians and others have said that U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam ([MACV](/source/MACV)), based on the assumption that all friendly forces had been cleared from the area, established a policy designating "free-fire zones" as areas in which: - Anyone unidentified is considered an enemy combatant - Soldiers were to shoot anyone moving around after curfew without first making sure that they were hostile. Gunter Lewy estimated that 1/3 of those killed and counted as "enemy KIA" killed by US/GVN forces were civilians. He estimates around 220,000 civilians were counted as "enemy KIA" in battlefield operations reports during battles against VC/NVA. Lewy estimated the use of free-fire zones was an important factor in this.[3] There are no distinctions between enemy KIA and civilian KIA inadvertently killed in the crossfire or through deployment of heavy artillery, aerial bombardment and so-on.[4][5][6] Part of this stemmed from the doctrine requirements of producing "enemy [body count](/source/Body_count#Vietnam_War)" during the Vietnam War, which saw violations and statistical manipulations due to ongoing pressures from MACV on units.[6] ### Dellums hearings Free-fire zones were discussed during 1971 ad hoc (i.e. not endorsed by Congress) hearings sponsored by Congressman [Ron Dellums](/source/Ron_Dellums) (California), organized by [Citizens' Commission of Inquiry on US War Crimes (CCI)](/source/Citizens_Commission_of_Inquiry).[7] ### Lawrence Wilkerson Colonel [Lawrence Wilkerson](/source/Lawrence_Wilkerson) flew helicopters low and slow through Vietnam. He claims to have had vocal disagreements with some of his superiors and members of his own gunner crew over free-fire zones, including an incident in which one of his crew shot a wagon that had a little girl inside of it. He describes one incident in which he prevented an atrocity by purposely placing his helicopter between a position that was full of civilians and another helicopter that wanted to launch an attack on the position.[8] ## Israel–Hamas war Israel has been accused of treating Gaza as a free-fire zone during the war.[9][10][11] ## See also - [Rules of engagement](/source/Rules_of_engagement) - [Area bombing](/source/Area_bombing) - [Strategic Hamlet Program](/source/Strategic_Hamlet_Program) - [Search and destroy](/source/Search_and_destroy) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Rule 1. The Principle of Distinction between Civilians and Combatants](https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule1#title-2) [International Committee of the Red Cross](/source/International_Committee_of_the_Red_Cross) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-yeager1_2-0)** [Yeager, Chuck](/source/Chuck_Yeager); Janos, Leo (1986-08-01). *Yeager: An Autobiography*. [Bantam](/source/Bantam_Books). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-553-25674-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-553-25674-1). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-:2_3-0)** Bellamy, Alex J. (2017-09-29). [*East Asia's Other Miracle: Explaining the Decline of Mass Atrocities*](https://books.google.com/books?id=spc4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA34). Oxford University Press. pp. 33–34. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780191083785](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780191083785). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Free Fire Zone"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190428232122/https://thevietnamwar.info/free-fire-zone/). 10 April 2014. Archived from [the original](https://thevietnamwar.info/free-fire-zone/) on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-:12_5-0)** ["Declassification of the BDM Study, "The Strategic Lessons Learned in Vietnam""](http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a096431.pdf) (PDF). Defense Technical Center. pp. 225–234. [Archived](https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20190412100450/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a096431.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 2019-04-12. Retrieved 2018-06-15. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:3_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:3_6-1) Appy, Christian (1993). [*Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam*](http://projectsmrj.pbworks.com/f/Working+Class+War+-+Christian+Appy.pdf) (PDF). UNC Chapel Hill. p. 273. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-uhl_7-0)** [That's Vietnam, Jake](http://www.thenation.com/article/thats-vietnam-jake?page=0,2) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20121014170020/http://www.thenation.com/article/thats-vietnam-jake?page=0,2) 2012-10-14 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), by Michael Uhl, The Nation, November 29, 2001 1. **[^](#cite_ref-nels_8-0)** [Deborah Nelson](/source/Deborah_Nelson), [“The War Behind Me: Vietnam Veterans Confront the Truth About U.S. War Crimes”](http://www.thewarbehindme.com/about.php) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110717042423/http://www.thewarbehindme.com/about.php) 2011-07-17 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), [Basic Books](/source/Basic_Books), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-465-00527-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-465-00527-7), October 28, 2008 1. **[^](#cite_ref-u679_9-0)** ["Israeli army in Gaza shot 'as they pleased' in free-fire policy"](https://www.newarab.com/news/israeli-army-gaza-shot-they-pleased-free-fire-policy). The New Arab. 2024-07-09. Retrieved 2024-09-28. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-x496_10-0)** Beaumont, Peter (2024-04-03). ["Israel's rules of engagement seem looser than ever – if they are followed at all"](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/03/israels-rules-of-engagement-seem-looser-than-ever-if-they-are-followed-at-all). *the Guardian*. Retrieved 2024-09-28. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Monks, Kieron (1 April 2024). ["Israel created free-fire 'kill zones' in Gaza, soldiers tell newspaper"](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/israel-free-fire-kill-zones-gaza-2985281?srsltid=AfmBOopdP67YAxTtlswESZtYkPH1T9z2Vmf5F1IzgVoDt3DuPETiAXdp). *inews.co.uk*. Retrieved 28 September 2024. ## Further reading - Lewis M. Simmons, "[Free Fire Zones](https://web.archive.org/web/20050924182430/http://www.crimesofwar.org/thebook/free-fire-zones.html)", in *Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know*, Roy Gutman, Ed, W. W. Norton & Company, July 1999, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-393-31914-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-393-31914-9) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Free-fire zone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-fire_zone) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-fire_zone?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.