Even if we grant both your points, then yes, those would still be civilians. Civilian =/= "good guy" or "innocent victim." It means they're not part of a milita

Even if we grant both your points, then yes, those would still be civilians. Civilian =/= "good guy" or "innocent victim." It means they're not part of a military force. Mind you, I'm not weighing in on whether or not the tactics here are appropriate, but it's pretty clear that the article is trying to make the argument that civilians are being caught up _military_ tactics which could eventually cross the line into strict war crime territory.