Amnesty says Somali attacks with Turkish drones have killed civilians

Two air strikes by the Somali military using Turkish drones killed 23 civilians, including 14 children, in March, human rights group Amnesty International said on Tuesday, calling for an investigation into possible “war crimes”.

The fragile Horn of Africa state, which has been battling an Islamist insurgency for more than 16 years, has a long history of defense cooperation with Turkey and is home to its largest military base and training facility abroad.

The suspected attacks on March 18 hit a farm near the village of Baghdad in the southern Lower Shabelle region, killing nearly two dozen people and wounding 17 others, mostly children, the rights group said.

Residents told Amnesty that “the drone strikes were followed by intense ground fighting” between al-Shabaab jihadists and Somali security forces, the watchdog said.

Investigators interviewed 12 people, including victims, their relatives and witnesses, and analyzed satellite images and photos of weapons fragments to determine the use of Turkish-made bombs and TB-2 drones.

Mohamed Ali Deereywho lost his younger brother and nine-year-old nephew in the attack, told Amnesty he rushed to the farm when he heard the first explosion, shortly before the second attack claimed more lives.

“The scene was chaotic. There were screams, blood and bodies all over the floor,” he said.

Another person who lost six family members said they were “horrified.”

“That’s inhuman. This is a massacre.”

Amnesty said all five families affected by the strikes belonged to “the marginalized Gorgaarte clan.”

“In Somalia, civilians have too often borne the brunt of the suffering of war. These horrific deaths cannot be overlooked,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty’s regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa.

“The Somali and Turkish governments must investigate these deadly attacks as war crimes and put an end to reckless attacks on civilians.”

Defense deal

The Somali government said it had conducted an operation against al-Shabaab in the same area, but made no mention of civilian deaths.

“More than 30 (militants) were killed during an operation carried out jointly by the Somali Armed Forces and international partners,” the Ministry of Information said in a March 19 statement.

It said 24 jihadists were “killed in the operation in the Baldooska area, while 15 others were killed in an airstrike on Baghdad.”

Amnesty said it had requested further details from the Somali and Turkish governments but had received no response.

The two governments signed a maritime defense agreement in February this year.

Turkey is one of several countries training Somali soldiers to replace an African Union peacekeeping mission whose troops are scheduled to leave by the end of the year.

Although Al-Shabaab was driven out of Mogadishu by an AU force in 2011, the jihadists continue to maintain a strong presence in rural Somalia and have carried out numerous attacks on political, security and civilian targets.