The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) military have acknowledged that their military operations in Somalia led to the death of two civilians while three were left injured in an air strike in early 2019. The intended targets of the air strike carried out in the vicinity of Kunyo Barrow were two members of the Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group, who were eventually killed.

This is the second known incident where AFRICOM has acknowledged killing civilians in Somalia, as rights activists have accused it of long shrouding its operations in secrecy. The deaths were mentioned on Monday 27th April 2020, in a quarterly assessment report by AFRICOM on allegations of civilian casualties raised in connection with its operations against armed fighters in Somalia, Libya and other African countries.

The AFRICOM’s commander, US Army General Stephen Townsend, made a statement in the report saying, “regrettably, two civilians were killed and three others injured in a February 2019 air strike. We are deeply sorry this occurred.” According to him, the civilian deaths, resulted from the explosion of US or al-Shabab munitions during the air strike.

The first was an air strike in April 2018 in El Buur, in the Galgaduud region of central Somalia, in which AFRICOM reported it had unintentionally killed two civilians.

Over several years, the al-Shabab has been conducting attacks on military and civilian targets, including hotels and traffic junctions in Somalia and neighboring countries, including Kenya. In her continuous effort to support Somalia in defeating the groups primary course to topple Somalia’s western-backed central government and set up its own rule based on strict interpretation of the Islamic sharia law, the US has been conducting air strikes in Somalia for years. A regional peacekeeping force, the African Union Mission in Somalia, also helps defend the Somali government.

Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Eastern Africa, Seif Magango, has commended AFRICOM’s move to publish periodical assessment reports on civilian casualty allegations, saying its a welcome step towards transparency. He also said the US must follow up with “accountability and reparation for victims and their families.”