Politics
Turkish drone strikes in Somalia killed 23 civilians, including children: Amnesty
ANKARA Human rights organization Amnesty International on Tuesday accused the Somali government of killing more than two dozen civilians in Turkish drone strikes targeting Islamist insurgents, saying the deaths could amount to war crimes.
The London-based watchdog detailed the deaths of 23 civilians, including 14 children and five women, in drone strikes on March 18 in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region, citing interviews with victims and eyewitnesses, as well as a review of satellite images and medical reports.
Attacks that do not differentiate between military targets and civilian objects are indiscriminate and may amount to war crimes, the watchdog said. The strikes injured 17 other people, including 11 children and two women, Amnesty added.
The Lower Shabelle region was one of the most affected by the insurgency of the extremist group Al-Shabaab, designated as a terrorist organization by the US government. In March, Al-Shabaab stormed a military base in the region, killing nearly 20 soldiers. The March 18 drone strikes came after heavy fighting between Al-Shabaab and Somali security forces in the area.
The Somali and Turkish governments must investigate the deadly strikes as war crimes and end irresponsible attacks on civilians, said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International's regional director for East Africa and southern Africa. These horrific deaths should not be overlooked, Chagutah added. Devastated survivors and their families deserve truth, justice and reparations.
When contacted by Al-Monitor, the Somali Defense Ministry was not immediately available for comment.
I am horrified by what happened to my loved ones. It's inhumane. It was a massacre, one of the anonymous survivors, who lost family members, including three children, told Amnesty.
Amnesty identified the bombs dropped by Bayraktar TB2 armed drones as MAM-L glide bombs, citing photos of the scrap munitions. The human rights group added that the bombs were also made in Turkey, just like the TB2.
Somalia is also home to one of Turkey's largest overseas military bases as part of a series of security cooperation agreements between the two countries. Turkey has been training Somali troops since 2017 and has supplied an unspecified number of Bayraktar TB2 drones to the African country to support its fight against terrorism. The drones are made by Baykar, a company owned by the family of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's son-in-law Selcuk Bayraktar. The two countries also signed a cooperation agreement for Somalia's maritime security in February.
Turkish aid workers, as well as security personnel in Somalia, have also been attacked by Islamist militants in recent years. A Turkish national aid worker was killed, along with at least one other person, in a landmine attack in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, last month. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility.
Amnesty said it asked the Somali and Turkish governments in April for details of the strikes, including which military forces were controlling the drone at the time of the strikes, but to no avail.
The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) also did not respond to Amnesty's questions regarding the involvement of American forces in the strikes, the report released Tuesday said.
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