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Nairobi US airstrikes in Somalia have killed 21 civilians and injured 11 since 2017, Amnesty International said on Wednesday, accusing the United States military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM) of facing “zero accountability.”
“Not only does AFRICOM utterly fail at its mission to report civilian casualties in Somalia, but it doesn’t seem to care about the fate of the numerous families it has completely torn apart,” Deprose Muchena, the human rights organization’s director for east and southern Africa, said in a statement.
The United States has supported Somali forces and African Union soldiers in the fight against al-Shabaab and launched multiple airstrikes in Somalia targeting the terrorist group, which repeatedly attacks security forces and civilians.
Amnesty said the 21 civilian casualties occurred between October 2017 and February 2020.
The latest deaths in February involved an 18-year-old woman and a 53-year-old farmer and telecom employee, Amnesty said, adding that it could not find any evidence of either being al-Shabaab members or participating in hostilities.
“AFRICOM thinks it can simply smear its civilian victims as ‘terrorists,’ no questions asked,” Muchena said. (DPA)
“Not only does AFRICOM utterly fail at its mission to report civilian casualties in Somalia, but it doesn’t seem to care about the fate of the numerous families it has completely torn apart,” Deprose Muchena, the human rights organization’s director for east and southern Africa, said in a statement.
The United States has supported Somali forces and African Union soldiers in the fight against al-Shabaab and launched multiple airstrikes in Somalia targeting the terrorist group, which repeatedly attacks security forces and civilians.
Amnesty said the 21 civilian casualties occurred between October 2017 and February 2020.
The latest deaths in February involved an 18-year-old woman and a 53-year-old farmer and telecom employee, Amnesty said, adding that it could not find any evidence of either being al-Shabaab members or participating in hostilities.
“AFRICOM thinks it can simply smear its civilian victims as ‘terrorists,’ no questions asked,” Muchena said. (DPA)
