US military accused of using airstrikes to trap Somalis in path of El Niño floods
Witnesses in al-Shabaab-held Jilib describe constant strikes as Africom denies targeting civilians or using weather as a weapon
The United States military has been accused of using airstrikes to pin residents of southern Somalia on the flood-prone banks of the River Juba as a strengthening El Niño bears down on the region. Residents and a source monitoring the Juba floodplain told The Guardian that the strikes are forcing civilians, including women and children, towards areas at risk of severe flooding. The US Africa Command (Africom) denies targeting civilians or using weather or flooding as a method of warfare.