(April 7, 2019) — Red Alert: Last month, Trump signed an Executive Order that could allow the CIA to become a secret killing squad, with no way to know how many people they kill.
Since Trump took office, finding out who the US is killing through lethal air wars has become nearly impossible.
The Pentagon claims it has killed no civilians in its Somalia drone war over the last 2 years. But we know drone strikes have killed civilians in Somalia — and the US is the only government conducting airstrikes in the country [2].
In other words: the CIA is almost certainly launching secret drone strikes killing Somali civilians, and then flat-out lying about it!
Halimo Mohamed Abdi was hit by a drone strike in Bariire, outside of the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Before losing consciousness, she saw three little boys, ages 9, 10, and 16, die in explosions. The strike broke her hips, left shrapnel in her thigh and terrible burns on her chest. After being hospitalized for 3 months, she returned to her home in ruins and 25 of her goats dead. She was forced to move to a camp housing tens of thousands of Somalis fleeing US airstrikes, and fighting between Al Shabab and the Somali government. [3]
We cannot let our government conduct unchecked, secret wars that kill and displace people around the world. That’s why we have to get Congress to ban CIA air wars NOW.
Drone strikes have tripled under Trump. He already snuck the CIA dangerous authority to conduct shadow drone wars around the world that are killing civilians, including Somalia, Yemen, and Pakistan. And now there is literally nothing in US law requiring reporting on civilian casualties by the CIA — making those wars completely invisible.
But Congress can stop the CIA from waging secret air wars around the world — by banning the CIA from conducting drone strikes entirely. So it’s time for us to make sure Congress hears us loud and clear:
ACTION: Tell your members of Congress to ban the secret CIA drone strikes NOW!
Dear Members of Congress,
We cannot let allow unchecked, secret wars that harm everyday people around the world. Please ban CIA drone strikes for good.
- https://act.winwithoutwar.org/act/ban-cia-drone-strikes-now
- [1] The Atlantic, “Trump Just Gave Himself More Power to Kill in Secret“
- [2] Foreign Policy, “US Bombardments Are Driving Somalis From Their Homes“
- [3] The Nation, “Inside the Secretive US Air Campaign In Somalia
ACTION ALERT: The Secret Killings Need to End
There is a secret war happening right now in Somalia that the United States government isn’t telling us about. Over the last two years, the US government has dramatically increased the number of air strikes with drones and manned aircraft against Al Shabaab, an armed group in Somalia. It has increased the number of people it is killing, and correspondingly decreased transparency about what it is doing. The US government is failing to report all of its strikes in Somalia, and most importantly, hiding the civilian casualties that result.
Right now, the US government claims that it has not killed any civilians in Somalia, but our researchers have found 14 civilians killed and eight injured in five attacks.
ACTION: Demand that the US government investigate and acknowledge civilian casualties and the war in Somalia now! Hold the US Government Accountable for Secret Killings. Sign Here.
Dear Acting Secretary of Defense Shanahan:
The US government has increased its use of deadly air strikes in Somalia to fight the armed group al Shabaab, yet it has also denied killing any civilians. Amnesty International has uncovered powerful evidence that in fact, the US government has killed more than a dozen civilians in Somalia, with no acknowledgement or accountability. These killings may have violated the laws of war, as the US is required to take all reasonable measures to protect civilians from lethal attacks.
Amnesty’s new report follows several earlier reports finding that the US government killed large numbers of civilians during military operations in Syria and in Iraq. In those situations as well, it appeared that insufficient care was taken to protect civilians.
This must stop. Americans do not want our government killing civilians in our name. We want the US government to fully investigate all credible claims of civilian casualties and war crimes, hold violators accountable and provide assistance to all civilian victims of US air strikes.
Related News
- How the US has stepped up its war in Somalia
- Who are Somalia’s al-Shabab?
- Africa Live: The latest from the region
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
