Rights group slams illegal US drone attacks in Somalia

A US non-governmental organization – US Global Drones Watch – says Washington must refrain from staging a unilateral drone campaign in Somalia.

Medea Benjamin, founder of Global Drones Watch, said on Friday drone attacks in Somalia and the Middle East should be conducted through the United Nations and the African Union.

“While they may be attacking people who deserve to be attacked, I’m not saying that I like Al-Shabab, but I think it should be done through the UN and the African Union, not unilaterally by the United States,” Benjamin told Sputnik News.

She said it’s very shocking that the US is using bases in Somalia to launch drone attacks behind the back of American people.

The Pentagon is using a base in the Somali city of Kismayo for its air raids.

According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalists, up to 105 people have been killed in US drone strikes in Somalia.

Since 2001, the United States has also been carrying out drone attacks in Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The aerial attacks were initiated by former US President George W. Bush but have been escalated under Obama.

Washington claims that its airstrikes target militants, but local sources say civilians have been the main victims of the attacks.

The United Nations has called the US drone attacks “targeted killings that flout international law.”