US Africa Command is aware of reports that it killed a civilian Somali clan elder in an airstrike that was launched in Somalia’s northern Sanag region on September 13, the command told Antiwar.com in an email on Tuesday.
AFRICOM has claimed that the airstrike killed an al-Shabaab weapons dealer, but that has been strongly denied by family members and local officials, who say the strike killed Abdullahi Omar Abdi, a prominent clan leader known for his efforts at peacemaking in the region. Al-Shabaab has also denied that Abdi was a member of the militant group.
“This was an unexpected and shocking incident,” Faisal Abdillahi, the Sanag region’s intelligence chief, said last month, according to Hiraan Online. “A man driving his car was bombed from the air. We, the officials, had no prior knowledge or warning. The deceased was a prominent figure who worked closely with the community. We don’t understand why he was targeted.”
Abdillahi also said there was no evidence Abdi was linked to al-Shabaab. “We have never heard of any terrorist charges against him. People are now terrified whenever they hear aircraft overhead. We need to know why he was killed and who authorized it,” he said.
On October 6, the Horn Observer reported that family members erected a memorial at the site of the airstrike to honor Abdi. “Our brother was a respected elder, not a terrorist. The US killed an innocent man without proof or remorse,” Elbuh, Abdi’s brother, said at a press conference at the memorial. “He preached peace, not war. Now his blood stains our soil.”
Abdi’s wife called for accountability for the killing of her husband. “We want justice. We want the world to know that our pain was caused by a drone, not by fate,” she said.
Brig. Gen. Abdillahi Omar Anshuur, the commander of a battalion in the Puntland Dervish Force, the official military wing of the Puntland government, said that Abdi had just met with Puntland’s president before he was killed.
“He was a peacemaker who helped defend Puntland during conflicts with al-Shabab and ISIS. His killing was illegal and unjust. He had been in Bosaso for 20 days and had even met President Said Abdullahi Deni. If he were guilty of anything, he would have been arrested, not bombed,” Anshuur said.
When asked about the comments from local officials and family members about Abdi, AFRICOM’s Public Affairs Operations told Antiwar.com: “We are aware of the reporting related to this airstrike. We do not have anything additional or new for you at this time. US Africa Command takes all reports of possible civilian casualties seriously and has a process in place to conduct thorough assessments using all available information.”
The US frequently launched airstrikes in Puntland against the ISIS affiliate in support of Puntland forces on the ground, and the attack that killed Abdi marked a rare strike in Sanag. Locals initially blamed the UAE for the strike before AFRICOM took credit, since Abdi was opposed to a deal that would give Abu Dhabi access to Puntland’s mineral resources.
The UAE is deeply involved in the Puntland region and has built an airbase in the port city of Bosaso, which, according to reports from Middle East Eye, it has used to ship weapons to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan. MEE has also reported that the US has been using the airbase in Bosaso to support its military operations in Puntland.
The US has bombed Somalia at least 101 times this year, including strikes against the ISIS affiliate in Puntland and al-Shabaab in southern and central Somalia. The number of bombings is unprecedented as the Trump administration has shattered the previous record for annual US airstrikes in Somalia, which President Trump set at 63 during his first term in 2019.
