Eight Civilians Killed in Botched French Raid on Somalia

Obama: US 'Helped' With French Operation

Locals are confirming that at least eight civilians were killed in the botched French raid on the Somali town of Bulo Marer, including two women and two children. The raid was aimed at rescuing a French spy named Denis Allex.

French officials say they believe Allex has probably been executed by his captors since the failed raid, but al-Shabaab denied this, saying Allex was still in their custody and that they also captured a French soldier in the attack.

Despite the raid ending in a disastrous failure with a significant civilian death-toll, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian defended the decision to attack, saying that it was “completely unrealistic” to try to negotiate for Allex’s release.

And while one would figure this would be the sort of fiasco people would be ducking for cover to avoid accountability for, President Obama insisted the US “helped” with France’s attack, deploying warplanes into Somali airspace to “support the rescue operation.”

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.