Amnesty International says 23 civilians have been killed in two attacks in Somalia using Bayraktar TB-2 drones made by the Turkish company Baykar, which it says may amount to war crimes.
Amnesty said that the attacks that took place on March 18, 2024, targeted civilians, mostly children and women, from the marginalized Gorgaarte tribe.
Residents told Amnesty that the attacks were carried out by drones, following a face-to-face battle earlier that day between the Al-Shabaab group and the Somali security forces.
“The government of Somalia and Turkey must investigate these deadly attacks as a war crime and stop the indiscriminate attacks on civilians,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa.
The international organization said that its researchers confirmed that the attacks were carried out with weapons known as MAM-L glide bombs, which were launched from two drones.
Sources in the Somali government told Amnesty that the Somali military forces fly TB-2 during operations against Al-Shabaab.
Amnesty said that on April 5, it sent a letter to the governments of Somalia and Turkey, to control the drones, but they did not receive any response.
