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The US military says it has conducted at least 148 strikes in Somalia in the past three years, killing at least 900 - 1000 people. It alleges all but two were militant fighters associated with al Shabaab.
What I wanted to know was, even if that's the case (and my reporting along with @amnesty's have found that it is not) how are the strikes impacting civilians?
@amnesty I found that U.S. air strikes in Somalia have damaged farms, homes and livestock. Strikes have also created a climate of uncertainty and paranoia within the communities they hit, as civilians start suspecting each other of being targeted members of al-Shabab.
@amnesty Al-Shabab has reacted to the strikes by harassing villagers, accusing locals of being U.S. spies or forcing them to choose between fighting for al-Shabab and fleeing home.
@amnesty Hope you'll read, skim or share my latest big project, which includes insights and inside information from @IlhanMN to coconut tree experts to the former Somali President's counter-terrorism advisor who worked with the Obama administration to structure the airstrike operations.
@amnesty @IlhanMN Here's the link: inthesetimes.com/features/us-ai…
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Amanda Sperber
@hysperbole
The US military confirmed to me it was on an operation in the village of Shanta Baraako the night two civilians, including one mother died. Madina Hospital verified the death certificate. inthesetimes.com/features/us-mi…
I don't think I have ever seen a man break down until I overly bluntly started questioning Hassan about his sister's death during the US "advise and assist" raid his home. His face fell. He collapsed into sobs. His sister.
Thankful to @inthesetimesmag, the Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting and most importantly the Khamis family for the support in reporting this piece; this will not be my last.
Read 4 tweets
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Amanda Sperber
@hysperbole
Yesterday General Waldhauser said US #airstrikes won't stop al Shabab in #Somalia. I spent five weeks on the ground investigating the impact of the strikes. Here's what I found: thenation.com/article/somali…
Halimo Mohamed Abdi said the blast broke both her hips, left shrapnel embedded in her thigh, and caused terrible burns that cost her both breasts.Before she lost consciousness, she told me, she saw three boys—9, 10, and 16—die in the explosion about 30 miles outside #Mogadishu.
Abdi, like many Somali herders, doesn’t follow the Western calendar, so she’s unsure of the exact date of the strike. But she says it was about two weeks before Eid al-Fitr, which began on the evening of June 14 last year.
Read 30 tweets

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World Health Organization (WHO)
@WHO
This month, 40 years ago, #smallpox was confirmed to have been eradicated.
It was one of the deadliest diseases known to humans, and is still the only human disease to have been eradicated bit.ly/2H9bpKM

#VaccinesWork
@WHOSEARO @WHO_Europe @WHOAFRO @pahowho @WHOEMRO @WHOWPRO The eradication of #smallpox from the world was certified by the Global Commission, an independent panel of scientists drawn from 19 nations in December 1979 at WHO Headquarters, Geneva bit.ly/2H9bpKM
Five months later, in May 1980, the 33rd World Health Assembly issued its official declaration on behalf of all WHO Member States that ‘the world and all its peoples have won freedom from #smallpox’

#VaccinesWork💪🏽
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John Hayward
@Doc_0
The big takeaway from Impeachment Theater is that American voters have influence over a much smaller portion of the federal government than they believed. Washington is a feudal bureaucratic empire with a small suggestion box.
Last week American voters were introduced to the idea that the elected President of the United States can be accused of "undermining" foreign policy determined by the permanent bureaucracy, which spends billions of our tax dollars but is not even slightly interested in our input.
We've been told top bureaucrats who supposedly serve at the pleasure of the president are actually entitled to their jobs and firing them is a crime, with the president presumed guilty unless he can prove he had an acceptable reason for terminating or reassigning them.
Read 14 tweets
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Fatuma
@Fatumaabdulahi
#Somalia under Farmaajo is moving closer and closer to loose confederation at best, #Yugoslavia-style split of the nation at worst!! It seems N&N are totally opposed to the very idea of federalism and prefer a return to the dictatorship days! Nostalgia for doomed days is madness!
30 years of brutal civil war, recurring droughts/famine, serious corruption, high levels of unemployment, and short sighted/very selfish politicians - with no solution in sight is pushing some of us to consider the unimaginable: to save Somalis #Somalia might have to be split-up!
Last December I worked on a 'resilience' research in #Kismayo, #Baidoa, and #Beledweyn. My team and I interviewed nearly 500 people in these cities on how they cope with displacement, conflict, climate change. The answers were heartbreaking! Their living conditions traumatizing!!
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Yashar Ali 🐘
@yashar
Constance Wu is apparently upset that her tv show, ABC’s “Fresh off the Boat,” just got renewed for a sixth season.

Someone pass along Shelley Long, David Caruso, and Katherine Heigel’s info to her.
2. On an Instagram post sharing the news that Fresh Off The Boat had been renewed, @ConstanceWu commented and said “dislike.”
3. I deleted two tweets that were a part of their thread. They didn't offer enough context to explain what I've learned over the past three years. As a result people (for good reason) felt that they came off as misogynistic and they were absolutely right

(please see next tweet)
Read 4 tweets
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G. Elliott Morris
@gelliottmorris
1. NEW from me: Average levels of racial prejudice have declined in America, but at the same time, racial identity has become more important in determining voting behaviour. How do we reconcile these two seemingly contradictory trends? [THREAD] economist.com/united-states/…
2. White nationalism has occupied a lot of media attention over the past three years. Rightly so; Some people have done violent, nauseating things the media needs to cover. But this gives a false impression that racism in America might be on the increase. It is not.
3. A lot of discrimination today comes from the mind, rather than the mouth or fist. Inner prejudice—"implicit biases"—cause employers and the education system to be biased against African Americans, and cause cops to stop black drivers disproportionately often than white ones.
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