Cuba rejects US military statement on doctors abducted by Al-Shabaab

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Authorities in Havana have rejected a statement issued by the US army on doctors abducted by Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia, terming it 'incomplete and inconsistent' in the new twist which could severely damage relations between the two countries.

The US army denied killing the two doctors who were practicing in Mandera, a town located in northeastern Kenya. They were kidnapped and taken to Jilib town in Somalia, a town regarded as the headquarters of al-Shabaab in Middle Jubba.

In February, the Al-Shabaab militants claimed in February that doctors Assel Herrera and Landy Rodriguez were killed that same month in a US bombardment of the city of Jilib. The US Africa Command admitted to carrying out an airstrike in the region during the same period.

However, the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a recent report that a review of available information concluded that "the US air strike conducted on Feb 15, 2024, did not result in civilian harm." The al-Shabaab maintains the two medics were killed but did not publish any photos or videos for evidence.

The Granma newspaper, a mouthpiece of the Cuban government, said in an article Thursday that the AFRICOM statement "does not mention the Cuban doctors explicitly." The government of Cuba now wants an inquiry into the whereabouts of the two doctors.

And Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said on X Wednesday that the US report "adds nothing new," adding Havana has been waiting since April "for an inquiry that Cuba officially requested about AFRICOM attacks" elsewhere in Somalia.

The claims by the Islamist group, which has been waging a bloody insurgency against the fragile central government in Mogadishu for 16 years, could not be independently verified. The doctors were part of a 100-member Cuban medical brigade working in Kenya under a bilateral agreement when they were taken.

The Al-Shabaab militants often abduct people in exchange for ransom but the group refused to settle a figure with the government of Kenya. Al-Shabaab has been fighting to topple the fragile UN-backed federal government of Somalia for the last 18 years.

GAROWE ONLINE