A new report from Amnesty International released Monday evening charges that the U.S. military killed three Somali farmers in a March 18, 2019 strike that the Pentagon claimed killed al-Shabaab militants.
Amnesty also alleges that U.S. African Command (AFRICOM) knew that intelligence about at least one of the three farmers was questionable but did nothing to follow up and investigate with the man’s family.
“This is just one of many cases of the U.S. military wantonly tarnishing large parts of the Somali population with the ‘terrorist’ label,” said Amnesty Somalia researcher Abdullahi Hassan. “No thought is given to the civilian victims or the plight of their grieving families left behind.”
According to Amnesty, the attack targeted a vehicle the men were driving in. Two of the men, 46-year-old Abdiqadir Nur Ibrahim and 30-year-old Ibrahim Mohamed Hirey were killed instantly. A third man, 46-year-old Mahad Nur Ibrahim, succumbed to burns and other wounds three weeks later.
“Three civilian men died agonizing deaths while their families are left questioning why the U.S. military targeted and killed them,” said Amnesty’s Security With Human Rights director Daphne Eviatar. “It is also potentially unlawful and raises questions about how seriously AFRICOM takes its obligations under international law.”
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