Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USSOM199

Incident date

February 24, 2019

Location

23 miles east of Belet Weyne, Hiiraan, Somalia

Geolocation

4.731534, 45.541138 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A confirmed US action, striking approximately 23 miles east of Beledweyne in the Hiran Region, killed 35 militants while no civilians were harmed, an AFRICOM statement asserted the next day.

The airstrike targeted armed al Shabaab militants “as they were transitioning between locations in a rural area”, the US command said.

Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Gregg Olson, US Africa Command director of operations, stated in the press release: “In the case of this strike, we interrupted an Al Shabaab attempt to mass their forces. Precision strikes eliminated a potential threat to our partners and to the people of Somalia well before the terrorists ever got themselves organized.

“US Africa Command have assessed that 35 terrorists were killed in this strike and no civilians were killed or injured.”

Local news agency Radio Kulmiye reported clashes that day “between Beledweyne and Mahas town, in the Hiran region. Residents told KNN that the fighting erupted last night [February 24th] in Hiran region, and residents have been terrorized.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention that the strike took place in the area 23 miles east of the town Belet Weyne. The generic coordinates for this area are: 4.731534, 45.541138. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Known belligerent
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al-Shabaab
  • Belligerents reported killed
    35

Sources (9) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

US Forces Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    US Forces
  • US Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

US Forces

"To support the Federal Government of Somalia's continued efforts to degrade al-Shabaab, U.S. forces conducted an airstrike approximately 23 miles east of Beledweyne, Hiran Region, Somalia, on February 24, 2019."

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Known belligerent
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al-Shabaab
  • Belligerents reported killed
    35

Sources (9) [ collapse]