Andrew Wasike
Saturday May 21, 2022
As the US moves to redeploy hundreds of troops to Somalia,
it makes efforts to minimize civilian harm, ensure justice for abuses and focus
on civilian protection as a priority, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday.
“Previous US military operations in Somalia resulted in the
loss of life and property to Somali civilians that the US neither recognized
nor provided with redress,” the rights group said in a report.
Washington has been involved in military operations against
al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, in Somalia since at least
2007, with US airstrikes increasing significantly in 2017.
However, in the last month of his presidency, former
President Donald Trump ordered approximately 700 American troops out of the
East African country.
In a major policy reversal conducted at the Pentagon’s
request, his successor Joe Biden approved the redeployment “to enable a more
effective fight against al-Shabaab, which has increased in strength and poses a
heightened threat,” according to the White House.
The troops that will be sent to Somalia will come from
current deployments in the region, and will have conducted what the White House
called “episodic” missions in the country following Trump’s January 2021
withdrawal.
Laetitia Bader, Horn of Africa director at HRW, said US
officials must be “very clear on how their forces will avoid harming Somali
civilians during military operations.”
“They will need to work closely with Somali and African
Union authorities to avoid repeating past laws of war violations and promptly
and appropriately respond to civilian loss,” she stressed.
Culture of impunity
for civilian loss
HRW pointed out that “considerable loss of civilian life in
US airstrikes and during joint operations, including attacks that were apparent
violations of the laws of war” has been documented.
During the previous deployment, the US military “denied many
incidents of civilian harm,” the report said.
The rights group said it recorded two US airstrikes in
February and March 2020 “that killed seven civilians in apparent violation of
the laws of war.”
“While the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) acknowledged
responsibility for the Feb. 2 incident, which killed a woman and injured her
two sisters, both children, and her grandmother, none of them received
compensation,” the report said.
HRW urged the US military to “correct course and ensure that
it takes all civilian harm allegations seriously, and credibly investigates
them.”
“A culture of impunity for civilian loss breeds resentment
and mistrust among the population and undermines efforts to build a more
rights-respecting state,” Bader said.
“The US government recognizes the need to credibly
investigate and compensate for civilian harm, but the military has yet to make
this a reality.”