Africom
US Africa Command, one of Department of Defense six geographic combatant commands responsible to the Secretary of Defense for military relations with African nations, the African Union, and African regional security organizations. Africom was declared operational capable on October 1, 2008. In 2018 Africom’s commander was US Marine Corps General Thomas D. Waldhauser.
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Apr- 2019 -5 AprilAfrica
US Africa Command admits to civilian casualties in Somalia airstrike
US Africa Command admitted that an airstrike last year targeting al-Shabaab in Somalia killed two civilians and that it failed to disclose its findings
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Mar- 2019 -20 MarchAfrica
US Africa Command disputes rights group’s allegations of civilian casualties in Somalia
Amnesty International has accused U.S. forces of killing several civilians in Somalia as they “dramatically increased” the number of air strikes in the volatile country, but the U.S. military denied the deaths. U.S. Africa Command said it had carried out 110 strikes by drones and manned aircraft in the past two years in Somalia, killing over 800 people, but insisted every death was that of a “terrorist.” But Amnesty researchers who investigated five air strikes in detail reported at least 14 civilians had been killed, raising fears the total dead in the scores of attacks may be far higher. “The attacks appear to have violated international humanitarian law, and some may amount to war crimes,” Amnesty said in a Wednesday, March 20 report, titled “The Hidden U.S. War in Somalia.” The study is based on 150 interviews including witnesses, family members of those killed and security experts. Their reports were corroborated by satellite imagery, photographs of the deep craters of the explosions, as well as munition fragments collected from the sites. U.S. strikes, which included missiles fired by manned aircraft as well as drones, targeted Somalia’s Al-Qaeda linked jihadist insurgent group, Al-Shabaab. Amnesty said that since April 2017, the U.S. …
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Feb- 2019 -5 FebruaryAfrica
Burkina Faso and DC National Guard sign counter-terror partnership
The District of Columbia National Guard and Armed Forces of Burkina Faso concluded a formal partnership to develop the African nation’s counter-terrorism and peacekeeping capacities as part of the U.S. National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership program. Burkina Faso is the 76th country to join the program, which will focus on building its security force capabilities, the D.C. National Guard said on February 3. The partnership will include “mission areas related to homeland defense and security, disaster mitigation and response, consequence and crisis management, inter-agency cooperation, border, port and aviation security, fellowship-style internships, and combat medical events” similar to the existing partnership with Jamaica, the National Guard said. “We are eager to develop our partnership with Burkina Faso through targeted security force assistance programs aimed at building Burkina Faso’s capacity in specific areas such as counter-terrorism, peacekeeping, intelligence, and defense institutions building,” said Major General William J. Walker, Commanding General, D.C. National Guard. The agreement was formally signed on February 1 with Walker in attendance, as well as Burkina Faso’s Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense Justin Som, U.S. Ambassador to Burkina Faso Andrew Young, Brigadier General Moise Miningou, the Chief of General Staff for the National Armed Forces of Burkina Faso, and …
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Dec- 2018 -17 DecemberAfrica
Somalia: 6 US airstrikes kill 62 al-Shabaab militants in Gandarshe
The US military said 62 al-Shabaab militants were killed in six airstrikes in the vicinity of Gandarshe, Somalia
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Nov- 2018 -30 NovemberAfrica
US carries out third airstrike against Al-Qaeda in Libya
US Africa Command carried out an airstrike against al-Qaeda in Libya and its first since June, killing 11 suspected militnats
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5 NovemberAfrica
US counter-terrorism assistance to G5 Sahel member states almost doubles to $111 million
The US has increased its military assistance to G5 Sahel Joint Force member states Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger to $111 million
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Oct- 2018 -16 OctoberAfrica
60 killed in largest US airstrike against al-Shabaab in Somalia since 2017
US Africa Command said it carried out an airstrike against al-Shabaab near Harardere in eastern Somalia, killing approximately 60 fighters
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9 OctoberAfrica
US airstrike in Somalia kills suspected Al-Shabaab militant near Kunyo Barrow
US forces carried out an airstrike near Kunyo Barrow, killing a suspected al-Shabaab militant, US Africa Command said
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Sep- 2018 -22 SeptemberAfrica
US forces in Somalia attacked for second time in a month
US troops in Somalia came under attack for a second time in two weeks by al-Shabaab northwest of Kismayo in Lower Juba Province, Africom said
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13 SeptemberAfrica
US and Somalia forces come under attack during operation against Al Shabaab
U.S. and Somali forces came under attack during an operation against the al-Qaeda affiliated group al-Shabaab in central Somalia, U.S. Africa Command said. A Somali soldier was killed and two others injured in the attack, which occurred on Wednesday, September 11 in the village of Mubaraak, approximately 37 miles west of the capital Mogadishu, Africom said on Thursday. U.S. forces conducted an airstrike in response to the attack, killing two al-Shabaab fighters and injuring another. No U.S. personnel were killed or injured, the command said. Al-Shabaab is fighting to overthrow the internationally backed government in Mogadishu, but has also carried out attacks in neighboring Kenya, which has deployed troops as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia. Africom works with AMISOM on both advise-and-assist missions as well as air support missions to target al-Shabaab’s forces, but has drawn controversy from strikes that have killed civilians. This is a developing story and will be updated
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