Somali officials accuse Americans of killing up to 31 civilians in air attacks; What this means for a region consumed by war and chaos

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What this means for a region consumed by war and chaos
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Compiled by Daily Star staff
Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Somali officials accuse Americans of killing up to 31 civilians in air attacks

At least 31 people were killed in Somalia after the United States launched air strikes Tuesday on suspected Al-Qaeda targets, amid criticism that it risks further destabilizing the lawless Horn of Africa Nation. A Somali Defense Ministry official said at least two helicopters struck targets in southern Somalia, where a US Air Force AC-130 gunship had pounded two villages Sunday.

A Somali lawmaker said 31 civilians, including two newlyweds, died in Tuesday's assault by the helicopters near Afmadow, a town in an area of forested hills close to the Kenyan border, 350 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu.

The report could not be independently verified.

Local village elders said at least 19 civilians had been killed in the gunship attack on the village of Hayo on Sunday.

But government spokesman Abdel-Rahman Dinari said it was not known how many people were killed, "but we understand there were a lot of casualties. Most were Islamic fighters."

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman confirmed Sunday's air strike, but would not comment on reports of the helicopter attacks, although he indicated US forces were not involved.

"We acknowledge the fact that the United States military did conduct a strike in Somalia on Sunday," Whitman said.

Somali officials said the attack was carried out on Monday, rather than Sunday.

The Pentagon did not release the exact time of the night time attack, however, a defense official said the discrepancy could be explained by differences in time zones.

"The target of the strike we believe was the principal Al-Qaeda leadership in the region," Whitman said. He added that the strike was conducted by an AC-130 gunship, a fixed-wing aircraft equipped with rapid-firing guns and used by special operations forces.

It was the first known US military strike in the country since the withdrawal of US forces there in 1994, and follows a rout of Islamist forces there by Ethiopian and Somali forces.

The operation was prompted by "credible intelligence that led us to believe we had principal Al-Qaeda leadership in an area where we could identify them and take action against them," Whitman said.

"We are going to remain committed to reducing terrorist capabilities when and where we find them," he said.
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The strikes were apparently aimed at an Al-Qaeda cell said to include three suspects in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in east Africa and a hotel on the Kenyan coast. US intelligence believes that Monday's air strike killed one of the three suspects, an official said on Tuesday.

Fazul Abdullah Mohammad, a native of the Comoros Islands, Kenyan Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan and a Sudanese national, Abu Taha al-Sudan, are accused of organizing the bombings. The intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was unclear which Al-Qaeda member died in the strike.

US Navy spokesman Lt. Commander Charlie Brown said the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower had been deployed off the coast of Somalia as part of an operation "to monitor terrorist activities." Three other US warships were conducting anti-terror operations.

The US air strikes caused concern in European capitals and at the United Nations where UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he feared they may lead to a "new dimension" in the conflict and a "possible escalation of hostilities."

"Any incident of this kind is not helpful in the long term," said Amadeu Altafaj, spokesman for EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel, while Italian Foreign Minister Massimo d'Alema stressed Rome's opposition to "unilateral initiatives that could spark new tensions."

The level of instability in Somalia was highlighted by gunmen on Tuesday firing rockets into a camp housing Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu, sparking an intense exchange of fire. It was the second such attack in three days.

Somali President Abdullahi Youssef defended the US air raids, which came after the Somali Ayr subclan allegedly refused to disclose the whereabouts of the three Al-Qaeda operatives that Washington accused it of sheltering.

"The Americans had a right to carry out the air strikes on some Al-Qaeda members," Youssef told reporters in Mogadishu.

"Those who carried out attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were there, so it was the right thing and the right time to carry out such strikes," Youssef said.

"The Americans are cracking down on Al-Qaeda terrorists all over the world and this was part of it," he added. - Agencies