By GUEST ESSAY;
Amnesty International has accused the Somali government of killing over two dozen civilians in drone strikes, urging both the Somali and Turkish governments to investigate the incidents for potential war crimes.
The strikes, conducted by Turkish drones, targeted Islamist insurgents in the southern Somali region of Lower Shabelle on March 18. According to Amnesty, 23 civilians, including 14 children and five women, were killed in the strikes, with 17 others wounded, including 11 children and two women.
The Lower Shabelle region has been heavily affected by the insurgency of the extremist group Al-Shabaab, designated as a terrorist organization by the US government. The drone strikes followed heavy fighting between Al-Shabaab and Somali security forces in the area, with the extremist group storming a military base in March, resulting in the deaths of nearly 20 soldiers.
Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, called for the investigation of the strikes as war crimes, emphasizing the need for truth, justice, and reparations for the affected families.
The bombs dropped from the Bayraktar TB2 armed drones were identified by Amnesty as “MAM-L glide bombs,” which are also manufactured in Turkey along with the TB2 drones.
Somalia hosts one of the largest Turkish military bases abroad, with Turkey providing training to Somali troops since 2017 and supplying Bayraktar TB2 drones to support the fight against terrorism. The two countries also signed a cooperation deal for Somalia’s maritime security in February.
Amnesty stated that it had reached out to both the Somali and Turkish governments for details of the strikes, including information on the military forces controlling the drones at the time of the strikes, but received no response. Additionally, the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) did not respond to Amnesty’s inquiries regarding the involvement of US forces in the strikes.
