Amnesty report details apparent US violation of humanitarian law in Somalia

US air strikes are resulting in civilian casualties in Somalia, Amnesty International reported Wednesday. The report details five incidents resulting in 14 civilian casualties, with eight more civilians injured within the past two years.

These issues began to draw increased international humanitarian attention during Barack Obama’s administration. In October 2016 the administration “broadened the president’s authority. … Strikes no longer required that Americans be under direct threat.”

Again the international humanitarian rights community was put on alert, when in March 2017, President Donald Trump issued a directive relaxing the rules for a strike in Somalia. Declaring all of Southern Somalia an “Area of Active Hostilities” (AAH) and allowing war-targeting rules to apply. A strike could now be ordered without “prior higher-level vetting.”

Brigadier General Donald Bolduc, confirmed that “the burden of proof on the target was changed … and so automatically opens up the aperture [for taking more strikes],” enabling the US to carry out strikes that it previously would not have, due to the increased risk or probability of civilian casualties. Additionally, Bolduc informed Amnesty that an individual in an AAH in Somalia would be a legal target based on only four criteria: age, gender, location, and geographic proximity to Al-Shabaab.

Based on this, the report states that if the information from Bolduc is true, then “the US military appears to be acting in violation of the standard interpretation of [International Humanitarian Law] well as its own laws and policies regarding who is lawfully targetable during conflicts.” However, because of a lack of transparency, it is difficult to assess the compliance with humanitarian and domestic law.

The report closes with recommendations to the US government, calling for greater transparency and accountability with the strikes, as well as justice and reparations to the victims and their families.

To the Somalian government, the report urges that they keep the air strikes in line with international humanitarian law, investigate allegations of civilian casualties, and create a safe and reliable mechanism for civilians to report casualties.

To the governments of states providing assistance to US drone strikes, the report pushes for risk assessment of the strikes to be undertaken before they are conducted, and to ensure that their assistance is in line with international humanitarian law.

The report urges the UN, EU and African Union, to call upon the US and Somalian government to conduct independent investigations into allegations of civilian casualties, and to urge them to implement the recommendations the report lays out.

Finally, to Al-Shabaab the report calls for an end to the attacks on civilians and other serious violations of international humanitarian law, for the group to allow free access by humanitarian actors to all territories under their control, and for Al-Shabaab to cooperate with investigations into alleged violations of international humanitarian law.

Source: Jurist