US raids killed Somali civilians: Amnesty
MOGADISHU: US air strikes in Somalia killed two civilians and injured three in February, human rights watchdog Amnesty International said on Wednesday, in a statement that raised questions over US investigations of such allegations.
US Africa Command (Africom) said it was assessing the allegations and goes to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties.
Africom says air strikes are a key weapon against the Al Qaeda-linked militant group Al Shabaab, but Amnesty says they also mistakenly target civilians.
A US airstrike in the town of Jilib on Feb.2 hit a family having a meal, Amnesty said, killing 18-year old Nurto Kusow Omar Abukar, injuring her two younger sisters — aged 7 and 12 — and her 70-year-old grandmother. Amnesty cited an interview with the girls’ father, who was present but uninjured in the strike.
“He was very devastated, he didn’t know why his family was targeted,” Amnesty researcher Abdullahi Hassan said.
“He said, ‘I’m now in my farm, alone in an open place, if they want to kill me.’”
Mohamed Omar Abukar, the son of the 70-year-old woman, said his family had been devastated by the strike.
His youngest niece had come to the capital for medical treatment, he said.
“She is OK and walking. My mum and my niece Fatuma are too seriously injured to be brought by car to Mogadishu,” he said.
Another strike on Feb.24 on the village of Kumbareere, about 10 kilometers north of Jilib, killed Mohamud Salad Mohamud, a 53-year-old father of eight who ran a banana farm and the local office for telecom company Hormuud, Amnesty said. Hormuud confirmed his death.
Africom issued statements after both strikes saying it had killed militants.
“Following every airstrike, US Africa Command conducts additional analysis to ensure the military objectives were met and that there were no civilian casualties,” Africom said in response to the allegations from Amnesty.
“Our in-depth post-strike analysis relies on intelligence methods that are not available to non-military organisations, including Amnesty International. The command’s civilian casualty allegation assessment process is precise, comprehensive, and led by a team of experts.”
Amnesty researcher Hassan said Africom should be more transparent about how it investigates allegations of civilian deaths.