Turkish drone strikes leave 23 civilians dead in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - At least 23 civilians have been killed by suspected Turkish drones in Somalia, the Amnesty International has reported, calling for immediate investigations into what it terms as 'crimes against humanity', which meet the threshold of war crimes.

According to the report, the two separate airstrikes claimed the lives of 23 people, with the first one being executed on 18th March 2024, leaving 14 children dead, 5 women and 4 men. The airstrike also left 17 people injured and all come from the marginalized Gorgaarte clan.

The rights group says the airstrike hit Jaffey farm, about three kilometres west of Bagdad village in the Lower Shabelle region, between 8 pm and 8.30 pm. Victims and other residents told Amnesty International that the drone strikes followed heavy ground fighting that started earlier that day between the armed group Al-Shabaab and Somali security forces close to the villages of Jambaluul and Bagdad.

And now, Amnesty International wants the governments of Somalia and Turkey to immediately investigate the incident, according to Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

“The Somali and Turkish governments must investigate these deadly strikes as a war crime, and put an end to reckless attacks on civilians,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

“In Somalia, civilians have borne the brunt of suffering in war far too often. These horrific deaths must not be overlooked. The devastated survivors and their families deserve truth, justice and reparations.”

Besides interviewing 12 people over the incident, Amnesty International also involved researchers, who reviewed satellite imagery and medical reports, analyzed photos of victims and weapons fragments, and geolocated videos from the scene of the attacks and of Turkish drone operations at Mogadishu International Airport.

Investigators confirmed that this particular airstrike was conducted with MAM-L glide bombs, which are dropped from TB-2 drones. Both are manufactured by Türkiye. Attacks that fail to differentiate between military objectives and civilian objects are indiscriminate and may amount to war crimes.

Multiple sources told Amnesty International that Al-Shabaab fighters were present in Bagdad during clashes on 18 March. An initial drone strike hit a mosque in the eastern side of Bagdad at around 7.30 pm, destroying the building and damaging nearby houses, the group says.

Following that attack, eyewitnesses said many civilians fled to the Jaffey farm to seek refuge. The first strike on the farm killed and injured several civilians. A second attack, approximately 30 minutes later, killed and injured more civilians who had arrived from the neighbouring villages of Alifow and Gaalgube to rescue survivors following the first strike.

A day later, Somalia’s Ministry of Information reported that security forces had killed over 30 Al-Shabaab militants in the villages of Bagdad and Baldooska in coordination with “international partners”.

The statement added: “The operation was launched in response to intelligence reports indicating that Al-Shabaab fighters were gathering in these areas and planning an assault against the Somali people… 15 Al-Shabaab members were killed in an airstrike in Bagdad.”

It is unclear whether Turkish or Somali forces were in control of the TB-2 drone at the time of the strikes on the Jaffey farm. One source in the Somali government told Amnesty International that members of the National Intelligence and Security Agency fly the TB-2s during combat operations against Al-Shabaab.

However, in 2022, the UN Panel of Experts for Somalia reported that, according to the Turkish government, Türkiye did not transfer the drones to Somalia in violation of the UN arms embargo, but rather operated the drones themselves “in the fight against terrorism”.

Also in 2022, Ahmed Malim Fiqi, Somalia’s then Interior Minister who is now Foreign Minister, was reported to have said that while Turkish forces operate the drones, Somali commanders provide the targets.

Turkey is a major security and development partner of Somalia and has been training the elite GorGor troops, who have been helping the country effectively tackle Al-Shabaab. The government of Somalia has also signed a defence deal with Turkey, which expressly gives Ankara authority to oversee Somalia's waters.

GAROWE ONLINE