According to a statement from the non-governmental organization (NGO), the civilians killed included 14 children, five women and four men, and another 17 civilians were injured - 11 children, two women and four men - in the attacks carried out with MAM-L glide bombs, which are launched from TB-2 drones, some manufactured by Turkey.
Tigere Chagutah, AI's regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, quoted in the NGO's statement, maintains that "the governments of Somalia and Turkey must investigate these deadly attacks as a war crime and put an end to reckless aggression against civilians" .
"In Somalia, civilians have too often endured the suffering of war. These deaths cannot be ignored. Survivors and their families deserve truth, justice and reparation", adds the activist.
All victims of the two bombings were from the marginalized Gorgaarte clan, which belongs to the larger Jareer community.
The attacks hit a farm west of the village of Baghdad, in the Lower Shabelle region.
According to 12 testimonies from victims, family members and residents to Amnesty International, the drone strikes followed violent ground fighting that occurred that day between the Al Shebab armed group and Somali security forces, near the villages of Jambaluul and Baghdad. .
On March 19, the Somali Ministry of Information announced, in a statement, the death of more than 30 Al Shebab militants in the villages of Baghdad and Baldooska, as a result of coordination between the Somali armed forces and "international partners".
"The operation was launched in response to intelligence intelligence indicating that Al Shebab fighters were gathering in these areas and planning an attack against the Somali people... 15 Al Shebab members were killed in an airstrike in Baghdad," the statement added.
AI investigators analyzed satellite images and medical reports, examined photographs of victims and weapon fragments, and geolocated videos of the attack site and Turkish drone operations at Mogadishu International Airport, which allowed them to determine the weapons used in the airstrike.
The organization was unable to determine, however, whether Turkish or Somali forces were in command of the TB-2 drones at the time of the attacks.
A Somali government source told AI that members of the National Intelligence and Security Agency fly the TB-2s during operations, but in 2022 the UN Panel of Experts for Somalia reported that, according to the Turkish government, the Turkey did not transfer the drones to Somalia - which would have been a violation of the UN arms embargo - and operates its own drones "in the fight against terrorism".
Also in 2022, Ahmed Malim Fiqi -- at the time, Somalia's interior minister and currently foreign minister -- stated that while Turkish forces operate the drones, Somali commanders provide the targets.
Amnesty International highlights in the statement that "attacks that do not take into account the distinction between military objectives and civilian objects are indiscriminate and may constitute war crimes."
The NGO sent letters to the governments of Somalia and Turkey, asking for details about the March 18 operation, including which military forces controlled the drones at the time of the attacks, but received no responses.
As a result of documentation of "multiple airstrikes" by the United States African Command (AFRICOM) on the country, at the cost of Somali civilian lives, the IA also wrote to the US command to find out whether its forces had been involved in the operation on March 18, but received no response.
"The Somali government has a long history of failing to provide reparations to civilian victims of military actions, or seeking redress from foreign actors when they are involved in illegal attacks," AI said in its statement.
“It also has a history of ignoring violations against marginalized communities, such as the Gorgaarte clan,” he adds.
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