(Previous Incident Code: SOM164)

A named man, Abow Ali Wardi (or Wardiyow), was widely reported killed in a US targeted strike near Kunyo Barrow. While there were some local claims that the victim was a non combatant, AFRICOM later insisted the target was “an al-Shabaab facilitator” and that “It is assessed with a high degree of confidence that civilian casualties did not occur as a result of U.S. military action.”

Reporting the action 48 hours after the strike, AFRICOM said it had carried out an airstrike targeting al Shabaab in Kunyo Barrow which had killed one “militant”. AFRICOM also asserted that “Currently, we assess no civilians were injured or killed as a result of this airstrike. Our processes and procedures allow for additional information to inform post-strike analysis” – despite presumably being aware of local reports.

Somalimemo, the pro al Shabaab site, provided what it said was a detailed account: “More details are coming in about US drone strikes in the Lower Shabelle region around 05:00 (5pm). The airstrikes near the Kuunyo-Barrow area targeted Abow Ali Wardi, a businessman in livestock and farming, who was driving his own car. About three missiles were fired as he left Kuunyo Barrow on his way to his home in Arabow. He had previously taken patients for treatment in the free hospital in Kunyo. Abow, who was killed by an American strike around 18km from Kunyo, was cut into three pieces according to some journalists who visited the hospital’s mortuary today. His head and hands were severed, while the rest of his body was a net.

“Fifty people from the Arabow area, including the victim’s father and other people who attended the funeral, were furious and fiercely accusing the United States of America. “Our son was not al-Shabaab, he was a businessman, he was operating his car, he never went to the United States,” said one of Abow’s uncles. Abow was a young man in his mid-thirties who left behind 11 children and three wives, two of whom are pregnant. Arabow residents said they were also deeply saddened by the death of Abow as he was an active trader they had known from his youth.”

Aaqbaar Online – which described the victim as “in his early 40’s leaving 11 children and three wives behind”, later reported that the victim’s family were calling on the US government “to carry out impartial and urgent investigations over Wardiyow’s death.”

However in April 2020, AFRICOM explicitly denied any civilians had been harmed in the attack: “June 26, 2019, AFRICOM received two allegations from two social media accounts claiming one (1) civilian was killed as a result of a U.S. airstrike in the vicinity of Kunyo Barrow, Somalia, on June 25, 2019. AFRICOM received a duplicate allegation of this incident on January 21, 2020, from a foreign non-government organization. After review, the allegation was assessed to be unsubstantiated. Contrary to allegations that the individual killed was a civilian, U.S. intelligence confirmed the identity of the individual as an al-Shabaab facilitator. The vehicle and occupant were observed in support of known al-Shabaab locations and personnel. Strike video indicates that the effects of the airstrike were limited to the vehicle as the strike occurred in an isolated area. It is assessed with a high degree of confidence that civilian casualties did not occur as a result of U.S. military action.”