U.S. Air Strikes Killed Civilians in Somalia, Amnesty International Says

U.S. 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 U.S. investigations of such allegations. A U.S. 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.

 
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.

Africa Command – also known as AFRICOM – issued statements after both strikes saying it had killed militants.
 

Amnesty researcher Hassan said Africom should be more transparent about how it investigates allegations of civilian deaths. “They seem to be living in denial that the airstrikes actually kill civilians,” he said.

 “Following every airstrike, U.S. Africa Command conducts additional analysis to ensure the military objectives were met and that there were no civilian casualties,” AFRICOM told Reuters in response to the allegations from Amnesty.
 

Last year, Amnesty issued a report alleging 14 civilian deaths in five U.S. air strikes in 2017 and 2018. At the time, Africa Command rejected the report but later said a review found that two civilians had been killed in a 2018 strike.