Incident Code

USSOM270

Location

Sakow district, Middle Juba, Somalia

Geolocation

1.803300, 41.834969
Accuracy: District

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

Local reports claimed that US airstrikes had targeted al Shabaab bases near Sakow in Middle Juba, in support of ground operations by Somali forces. AFRICOM itself did not publicly report any strikes on this date.

Goobjoog News reported what it said were US strikes in support of Somali ground operations “around Sakow district, the airstrike also raids and destructed another Al-Shabaab militia base, which had been stockpiling weapons and military equipment.”

It was not stated whether any alleged militants were harmed in the attack.

Anatolia Agency reporter Mohamed Dhaysane also reported strikes though did not identify a party, noting in a tweet that “Airstrike targeted alshabab facilities in Middle and lower #Juba provinces in Southern #Somalia, reports say several #AlShabaab have been killed”.

In an email exchange with Airwars on February 4th 2020, an official stated: “In short, U.S. Africa Command did not conduct any kinetic operations on Jan. 22, as alleged in your query.”

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Strike Type
Airstrike
Strike Status
Contested strike
Civilian Harm Reported
No
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention strikes within the Sakow district, for which the generic coordinates are: 1.803300, 41.834969. Due to limited information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Military Statements

U.S. Forces Assessment
Suspected belligerent
U.S. Forces
U.S. Forces position on incident
Not yet assessed
U.S. Forces Strike Report
AFRICOM (via email) February 4th 2020 In short, U.S. Africa Command did not conduct any kinetic operations on Jan. 22, as alleged in your query.

Media From Sources (2)

Sources (1)