(Previous Incident Code: SOM019b)

At least eight civilians were killed and as many as eight were wounded when fighter jets attacked the Somali village of Kudah, 160 kilometres southwest of Kismayo, a woman who had fled the village following the attack told the Kenyan group Journalists for Justice.

According to the NGO: “Kudah, June 23, 2014. An elderly woman who had fled from Kudah, 160 kilometres southwest of Kismayo, following an air strike and is now an IDP near Kismayo recalled an attack by fighter jets on the village which destroyed two homes, five (5) donkeys, killed eight (8) civilians and wounded eight (8) others. Many people in the village fled into the bush following the strike and most of the wounded died of their injuries for lack of medical care, she said.”

An AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) press release on June 23rd took responsibility for a strike on Kuday, noting that “AMISOM forces have conducted airstrikes in Anole and Kuday in the Lower Jubba region as part of a sustained effort to destroy Al Shabaab’s military capabilities… In Kuday, the airstrike killed more than 50 insurgents. AMISOM continues to up the pressure on al Shabaab with a view to liberating more areas in forthcoming operations.”