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World News See other World News Articles Title: USA/Somalia: Shroud of secrecy around civilian deaths masks possible war crimes Forensic investigation yields credible evidence 14 civilians were killed in just five strikes More than 100 strikes by US drones and manned aircraft since early 2017 Strikes in Somalia tripled under Trump, outpacing Yemen and Libya combined The US government must carry out impartial, thorough investigations into credible evidence its rapidly escalating air strikes in Somalia have killed numerous civilians, Amnesty International said in a new report today. The Hidden US War in Somalia details how 14 civilians were killed and eight more injured in just five of the more than 100 strikes in the past two years. These five incidents were carried out with Reaper drones and manned aircraft in Lower Shabelle, a region largely under Al-Shabaab control outside the Somali capital Mogadishu. The attacks appear to have violated international humanitarian law, and some may amount to war crimes. When approached with Amnesty International’s findings, the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) repeated its denial that any civilians have been killed in its operations in Somalia. “The civilian death toll we’ve uncovered in just a handful of strikes suggests the shroud of secrecy surrounding the US role in Somalia’s war is actually a smokescreen for impunity,” said Brian Castner, Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Advisor on Arms and Military Operations. The civilian death toll we’ve uncovered in just a handful of strikes suggests the shroud of secrecy surrounding the US role in Somalia’s war is actually a smokescreen for impunity. Brian Castner, Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Advisor on Arms and Military Operations Share this Twitter Facebook Email “Our findings directly contradict the US military’s mantra of zero civilian casualties in Somalia. That claim seems all the more fanciful when you consider the USA has tripled its air strikes across the country since 2016, outstripping their strikes in Libya and Yemen combined.” In the course of their investigation Amnesty International researchers travelled to Somalia, conducted more than 150 interviews with eyewitnesses, relatives, persons displaced by the fighting, and expert sources – including in the US military – and rigorously analysed corroborating evidence, including satellite imagery, munition fragments, and photos from the aftermath of air strikes. Strikes proliferate after Trump weakens safeguards The number of US strikes in Somalia surged after 30 March 2017, when President Trump signed an Executive Order declaring southern Somalia an “area of active hostilities”. US forces carried out 34 strikes in Somalia in the last nine months of 2017 – more than in the entire five years from 2012 to 2016. This increased again in 2018, to 47 strikes; and there have already been 24 in the first two months of 2019 alone. According to a retired US Brigadier General Amnesty International spoke to, this lessened the burden on the US military to guarantee that civilians will not be killed in air strikes. Worryingly, the General also believes that the Executive Order widened the net of potential targets to include virtually any adult male living in villages sympathetic to Al-Shabaab and seen in proximity to known fighters. Such a broad targeting mandate would violate international humanitarian law and lead to unlawful killing of civilians. For example, in a strike on the hamlet of Farah Waeys, AFRICOM claims that “all individuals injured or killed were members or affiliates of Al-Shabaab,” while Amnesty International has documented that two civilian men were killed, and five women and children injured, in addition to Al-Shabaab casualties. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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