, 8 tweets, 4 min read Read on Twitter
'The Hidden US War in Somalia' is a new report out today by @amnesty. We show that 14 civilians were killed and 8 injured in 5 of the more than 100 strikes in the past 2 years. This thread shows how we identified one strike with open source techniques bit.ly/AMNSM1
On 11 November 2017 three farmers from the village of Darusalaam, Ibrahim Siid Whehelow, Hassan Meyow Abkey + Ahmed Jeylani Sheekow, had been working in a field late into the night - finishing so late they rested there. At around 3am an airstrike hit and killed all three men.
We discovered and were able geolocate imagery of the strike that killed the thee men to this field just 1.4 miles outside Darusalaam - at 1°54'26.1"N 44°47'52.1"E goo.gl/maps/nWdbgNSKy…
In our interviews, we were told the 3 men went on foot to work in the field crossing the Shabelle River and walking 30 to 45-minutes. Assuming a roughly 3mph walking pace with a break, this gave us a approximate radius of 1.4 to 2.25 miles from Darusalaam. (distance=speed*time)
To calculate the distance, the array of measuring tools in Google Earth Pro were essential - in this case the path measuring tool. We also ensured the satellite imagery we were looking at dated from as close as possible to Nov 2017 - in this case from December 2017.
Finally, we found the field with distinctive trees trees 1.4 miles from Darusalaam. We can see the large, distinctive tree, the hedgerow, the ploughed field the three men were working on all night.
This video adapted from a graphic novel by @mike_daws tells the story of how Ibrahim Siid Whehelow, Hassan Meyow Abkey + Ahmed Jeylani Sheekow were killed in Nov 2017 by a US airstrike. It's worth a watch.
This is just 1 of 5 cases @amnesty investigated where US air strikes caused civilian deaths & injuries in Somalia. Only a fraction of the 110 strikes the US military has admitted to carrying out since June 2017. Still they claim zero civilian casualties. amn.st/6008EkDKe
Missing some Tweet in this thread?
You can try to force a refresh.

Like this thread? Get email updates or save it to PDF!

Subscribe to Sam Dubberley
Profile picture

Get real-time email alerts when new unrolls are available from this author!

This content may be removed anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!