The killing of 23 civilians in military strikes conducted by Turkish-made drones in Somalia may account to war crimes, Amnesty International has said. The strikes, which killed 14 children in the course of combat between Somali security forces and the Islamist armed group Al-Shabaab, call attention to Turkey’s ongoing proliferation of lethal drone technology to countries including Somalia, Azerbaijan and Ethiopia known for their brutal military campaigns conducted outside the rules of engagement.
In the latest incident, civilians from a marginalised clan fled to a nearby farm to seek refuge following armed clashes, only to be massacred in a double-tap strike initially claimed to have been conducted against Al-Shabaab fighters, prior to the Amnesty investigation.
“The Somali and Turkish governments must investigate these deadly strikes as a war crime, and put an end to reckless attacks on civilians,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.
“In Somalia, civilians have borne the brunt of suffering in war far too often. These horrific deaths must not be overlooked. The devastated survivors and their families deserve truth, justice and reparations.”
Amnesty International, the international rights watchdog, conducted interviews and assessed satellite imagery, medical reports and geolocated videos to determine that the strike was conducted by Turkish-manufactured bombs dropped by Turkish-manufactured Bayraktar TB-2 drones.
“Attacks that fail to differentiate between military objectives and civilian objects are indiscriminate and may amount to war crimes,” Amnesty warned in their report.
According to Amnesty, it is “unclear whether Turkish or Somali forces were in control of the TB-2 drone at the time of the strikes on Jaffey farm.” Conflicting reports suggest that either Turkish or Somali operators were in control of the lethal technology – a particularly relevant question given a UN arms embargo on the East African nation.
A survivor of the deadly attack is quoted as saying: “The scene was chaotic. There were screams, blood, and bodies all over the ground. I luckily survived but my 22-year-old son, Ali Mohamed Ali Deerey, who was with me was seriously injured in his back… My brother Ismail and his son were brutally killed.”
Turkey has been one of the most active exporters of military technology in recent years, exporting drones to more than 20 countries and leading to lowered scores and rankings in the Global Peace Index, an annual report by the Australia-based think tank Institute for Economics and Peace. Somalia is one of its leading export partners.
Over 100 civilians in Kaduna, Nigeria, were killed during a religious celebration in a 2023 drone strike carried out by the Nigerian Army. The drone, recently acquired from Turkey’s rapidly expanding defence sector, was mistakenly deployed, in an incident which exemplifies the dire consequences of the unchecked proliferation of advanced drone technology in global defence industries and its impact on civilian safety. Ethiopia’s use of these drones against Tigray militants also led to significant civilian casualties.
