US military rebukes Al-Shabaab for spreading propaganda over airstrike in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Al-Shabaab's statement about a precision airstrike in Jamaame within the vicinity of Jilib town was inconsistent and misleading, the US military has said, blaming the Somalia-based militants of "spreading rumors" to its an advantage.

On April. 10, the US Africa Command, with the help of Danab troops, raided the town in Middle Juba, killing a suspected Al-Shabaab operative, adding to 10, who had also succumbed the previous day in Kobon, within Jubaland.

But through their proxy media, the Al-Shabaab reprimanded the US military, insisting that the victim of Jamaame was "a poor farmer" whose crime was "searching for food" for his family. The militants accused the military of being "indisciplined and intolerant".

In a statement on Thursday, however, AFRICOM dismissed the allegations as "false propaganda", adding that the victim was an "al-Shabaab member complicit in the murder of at least six innocent Somalis".

Prior to the airstrike, AFRICOM said, the al-Shabaab terrorist displayed the murdered bodies of Somali National Army [SNA] soldiers in a village. Following this act of coercion and intimidation, the al-Shabaab terrorist departed the village, it added.

The airstrike was unleashed once the suspect had retreated to the remote and secluded village, where there was the limited presence of civilians, whom the command is destined to protect and defend, the statement indicated.

“This was no innocent civilian. This was a purposeful and heinous act. It was a war crime by an al-Shabaab terrorist who desecrated bodies to scare and intimidate innocent Somalis into submission,” said Maj. Gen. William Gayler, U.S. Africa Command director of operations.

"This terrorist posed with al-Shabaab flags prominently displayed in the background as Somalis of all ages were exposed to his gruesome public display.”

US Africa Command has close to 500 troops in Somalia who train and equip SNA troops besides giving air surveillance during sophisticated operations. Since January, the team has killed 60 militants in 39 record airstrikes, statistics from AFRICOM shows.

The Al-Shabaab affiliated media insisted that the victim was an "innocent" civilian, a claim the US Africa Command maintains that is "false" and "smear" campaign to incite locals against "well-intended" operations against the militants.

Weakened by sustained military operations led by the SNA and AMISOM forces, al-Shabaab is increasingly relying on lies and propaganda, including releasing gruesome pictures of unverified civilian casualties, in an effort to grab media attention, as well as deceive the Somali public, read the statement.

Early this month, Amnesty International accused the Command of failing to take responsibility for civilians killed in the unending airstrikes, adding that over 21 innocent people have died in as many years without compensation from the US military. Only one case was admitted by the command, it added.

However, Gen. Stephen Townsend, the commander for AFRICOM, said his team will debunk some of the claims in a report due to be released this month. The airstrikes usually target Al-Shabaab hideouts in central and southern remote villages of Somalia.

A report released by the UN early this year indicates that the Al-Shabaab militants have started fleeing from remote villages to urban areas due to frequent airstrikes and subsequent ground combats.

The militants are also embroiled in stiff internal squabbles, precipitated by diminishing finances having lost key strategic towns where they collect Zakat. For instance, its leader Ahmed Omar Diriye clashed with finance controller Mahad Karate, intelligence reports indicate.

As of today, there are about 7,000 active Al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia. However, a huge chunk has defected and is now aiding the government to get rid of the militants from the country which has been trying to establish a functional government in three decades.

GAROWE ONLINE