December, 21 2011, 09:46am EDT
Kenya: Investigate Bombing of Somali Village
Witnesses Say 11 Civilians Dead, 24 Wounded
NAIROBI
The government of Kenya should investigate the death of as many as 11 civilians during a Kenyan air force raid on Hosingow village in Somalia on December 20, 2011, Human Rights Watch said today. Both the Kenyan armed forces and the armed group al-Shabaab should take all feasible precautions to minimize civilian casualties during military operations, Human Rights Watch said.
Two residents of the village of Hosingow in southern Somalia told Human Rights Watch by telephone that two military planes attacked the village during the afternoon of December 20. The first dropped a bomb on makeshift huts, one of which was a school, they said, killing seven children and one woman. The second strafed the village with a machine gun, killing one woman and at least two men, all civilians. The witnesses said 24 civilians were wounded in the attack and had to be evacuated as there are no medical facilities in Hosingow.
"A prompt and impartial investigation is needed into what happened in Hosingow village," said Ben Rawlence, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "All sides need to act to minimize harm to civilians."
Hosingow is in territory controlled by the rebel armed group al-Shabaab, but Human Rights Watch was unable to determine whether its forces were present in the town at the time of the attack.
A Kenyan army spokesman, Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir, confirmed to the media that Kenyan forces were responsible for the attack but said that no civilians had been killed.
Kenyan armed forces have been conducting military operations against al-Shabaab in Somalia since October 16.
International humanitarian law, or the laws of war, obliges the parties to an armed conflict to take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to the civilian population. Attacks that target civilians or civilian objects are prohibited, as are attacks that do not discriminate between civilians and military objectives, or that were expected to cause civilian harm that was greater than the anticipated military gain. The laws of war require governments to investigate credible allegations of violations.
Human Rights Watch wrote to the Kenyan government on November 18 urging it to investigate allegations of indiscriminate use of force in the course of its Somalia campaign, called Operation Linda Nchi (Swahili for Protect the Nation). Human Rights Watch has yet to receive a response to its letter.
Human Rights Watch is one of the world's leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.
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