Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USSOM202

Incident date

March 6, 2019

Location

Busaar/Waraha Kakuma, Gedo, Somalia

Geolocation

2.67191, 41.32213 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A possible US or Kenyan airstrike at Buusaar or Waraha-Kakuma left “scores” of al Shabaab fighters dead, according to local media sources.

A regional official who asked Mareeg to remain anonymous, told the local news organisation that the strike had destroyed al Shabaab’s base in ‘Buzer, west Somalia.’

The report did not note how many militants were thought to have been killed in the strike. Airwars interprets “scores” as spanning from ten to forty, though these figures should be considered subject to significant levels of uncertainty.

It was unclear who carried out the bombing according to Mareeg, although it reported it as a “suspected US airstrike”. There are no known reports about civilian harm.

Halgan Media tweeted: “Local pastoralists in Gedo province #Somalia reveal an unidentified aircraft conducted a strike near the village of Buusaar in Gedo province. No Government has claimed responsibility for the attack but the suspicion lays with the Americans and KDF”

A second source claimed the morning strike took place at Waraha-Kuma: “#BREAKING new Airstrike reported in Waraha-Kakuma Village in Gedo Region Southern #Somalia.”

Asked whether it had been responsible for this event, in February 2020 a senior AFRICOM official told Airwars that this was not the case. However, this may not preclude actions by the CIA which conducts its own undeclared strikes in Somalia.

The incident occured between 12:00 am and 9:00 am local time.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Causes of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Unknown
  • Suspected attackers
    US Forces, Kenyan Military Forces
  • Suspected target
    Al-Shabaab
  • Belligerents reported killed
    10–40

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention that the strike took place near the village Busaar in the Gedo region. The coordinates for Busaar are: 2.67191, 41.32213. Another source mentions that the strike took place near Waraha Kakuma, however, due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location of this area.

US Forces Assessment:

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

Kenyan Military Forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Kenyan Military Forces
  • Kenyan Military Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Causes of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Unknown
  • Suspected attackers
    US Forces, Kenyan Military Forces
  • Suspected target
    Al-Shabaab
  • Belligerents reported killed
    10–40

Sources (1) [ collapse]