Between four and six civilians were allegedly killed by a US airstrike near Janaale.

Morad News, reportedly close to Al Shabaab, tweeted: “US drone strike kills 4 civilians after bombing a minibus near Janaale town. 2 of the victims r members of a well known family in Mogadishu. An elderly man & driver are among the victims. GRAPHIC photos from scene of the drone strike published.”

Halgan Media wrote: “Many civilians where killed today in a US drone strike in Somalia. The Americans are more than likely to claim responsibility for the strike within the next 48 hours and I’m more than certain the victims, in this case which are women and children will be labeled as Terrorists.”

AFRICOM officially declared the strike, saying the victims were members of Al Shabaab: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab terrorists in the vicinity of Janaale, Somalia, Mar. 10. The command’s initial assessment concluded this airstrike killed five (5) terrorists. We currently assess no civilians were injured or killed as a result of this airstrike.”

On the allegations of civilian harm it added: “While we currently assess that this airstrike injured no civilians, we are aware of social media reports alleging civilian casualties resulting from this strike. U.S. Africa Command complies with the law of armed conflict and takes all feasible precautions during the targeting process to minimize civilian casualties and other collateral damage. As with any allegation of civilian casualties, U.S. Africa Command will review any information it has about the incident, including any relevant information provided by third parties, and take appropriate action based on the outcome of this review.”

According to Anadolu, “the U.S. African Command airstrike in the town of Janale in the lower Shabelle region killed at least six unarmed civilians who were traveling to the capital Mogadishu, Mahad Dhoore, a lawmaker from the Southwest state, told local media on Thursday.”

Al Jazeera added: “The victims were civilians travelling in a minibus heading to the capital Mogadishu, Abdullahi Abdirahman Ali, who lost his father in the air strike, said.
‘The Americans are lying. They killed my elderly father. He is 70 years old and can barely move. He can’t walk without the help of a walking stick. He is not al-Shabab,’ Abdullahi told Al Jazeera.

‘They killed these civilians because they know no one will take action against them,’ he added, anger palpable in his voice. One of the other victims was a 13-year-old boy, relatives said. Photos posted online show some of the bodies burned beyond recognition and the wreckage of a blood-soaked vehicle.

‘The minibus was going to Mogadishu. If the Americans suspected anything, they could have waited for them there. For them it is easier to kill civilians than to question them,’ Abdullahi added.”

The Intercept published a detailed investigation of the incident saying: “But Farhan Mahmoud Mohammed, a resident of Janaale who spoke to The Intercept by phone last Friday, told a different story.

Mohammed’s 13-year-old son Abdi Farhan Mahmoud was on his way to school when a U.S. missile struck a mini-bus taxi he was riding in. Mahmoud was decapitated in the strike, his father said. He could hardly bear to look at the boy’s charred face.

Another passenger in the minibus, 70-year-old Abdirahman Ali Waadhoor, was also killed in the attack, according to his son Abdullahi Abdirahman Ali. ‘My father is a disabled man. He never had a problem with anyone.’ said Ali, who lives in London and saw pictures of his father’s corpse on his phone. Asked how he felt when he saw the images, Ali replied: ‘That’s not my father. It’s only meat. Brown meat.'”

Human Rights Watch later received information about the victims and “found that at least 6 people were killed in the strike, including 3 men over age 55 and a 13-year-old boy, who were on their way home to Mogadishu and nearby Elasha Biyaha. No evidence was found of any links to Al-Shabab.

Human Rights Watch received unconfirmed information that two Al-Shabab fighters may have boarded the minibus in or near Ugunji. Their presence may have been the basis for the US strike against the bus. The attack may have been unlawfully disproportionate, depending on the military importance of the alleged Al-Shabab fighters.”

In its civilian casualty assessment third quarter report AFRICOM said the incident was currently under review. In the following report it said: “On May 8, 2020, USAFRICOM closed this report as unsubstantiated. USAFRICOM received a new report of this incident from a NGO on May 15, 2020, claiming the airstrike killed six (6) civilians. USAFRICOM received a duplicate report of this incident from an online media source on June 17, 2020, claiming the airstrike killed six (6) civilians. USAFRICOM received six (6) duplicate reports of this incident via the USAFRICOM CIVCAS website on July 28 and 30 2020, claiming the airstrike killed six (6) civilians. USAFRICOM has reopened this case and our assessment is ongoing.”

In another civilian casualty report AFRICOM said the claims of civilian harm were  unsubstantiated: “The assessment concluded that the U.S. airstrike that occurred March 10, 2020 in the vicinity of Janaale, Somalia targeted a vehicle containing five (5) al-Shabaab members after the vehicle departed an al-Shabaab compound. The airstrike occurred in open terrain and the effects of the strike were limited to the vehicle. Contrary to some reports, the vehicle was not traveling in the direction of Mogadishu. The source of the initial March 10, 2020 report is a known al-Shabaab propaganda outlet and their report contained a recirculated photograph taken in 2019, before the airstrike occurred. This photograph appears to have been recycled from a previous report of civilian casualties. Forensic analysis indicated that other photographs utilized by the al-Shabaab propaganda outlet were deliberately manipulated.”

AFRICOM once again addressed this incident in their 4th Quarter, 2021 Civilian Casualty Assessment Quarterly Report, stating that “U.S. Africa Command tracked a vehicle originating from an al-Shabaab compound. The vehicle traveled to a second known al-Shabaab compound, where five operatives exited and later re-entered the vehicle. U.S. ISR maintained continuous surveillance following the subsequent departure of the compound until the strike. U.S. ISR assets maintained continuous surveillance until completion of the strike mitigating the risk of collateral damage and civilian casualties. Examination of the strike location in relation to Mogadishu confirmed the strike occurred on neither of the two prominent routes to Mogadishu. Instead the strike took place approximately 9 km north, on an alternate route, decreasing the likelihood that the vehicle was a taxi traveling to Mogadishu. Finally, during follow-on assessments U.S. Africa Command also discovered through evaluation of metadata, that the images used in the original civilian casualty report had also been used in previous civilian casualty reports by Radio Alfurqaan, diminishing the credibility of its reporting.”

The incident occured in the afternoon.