Somalia probes impact of Kenyan airstrikes across Gedo region.
Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke said his government had talked with Kenyan officials over the airstrike to be stopped in El-Adde region in southern Somalia where Al-Shabaab fighter killed several Kenyan soldiers on Jan. 15.
"I named a fact-finding committee headed by the
Minister of Defense to assess the situation in Gedo region, in particular the
El-Adde neighborhood, the casualties of civilians, what happened there and the
withdrawal of AMISOM troops from southern Somalia," Sharmake told
journalists in Mogadishu.
"We had communication with Kenyan officials
including the Chief of Army Staff over stopping of the airstrikes.
"The defence minister and his team will travel
to the area and find out the extent of civilian casualties there," the PM
added.
His remarks came two weeks after Kenyan warplanes
carried out airstrikes in southern Somali region of Gedo after Al-Shabaab
attack in which more than ten Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers were captured
and several others injured.
The Kenyan government has not given the official
figures of the casualties, but the militants claimed to have killed 100 Kenyan
troops and captured 12 others.
Al shabab frequently exaggerates the number of
troops and civilians they massacre, while AMISOM rarely gives exact tolls.
Somalia probes impact of Kenyan airstrikes across Gedo region.
The Somali government on Sunday named a committee who will investigate or assess the impact of airstrikes mounted by Kenyan warplanes fighting Islamist militants Al Shabab in Gedo region.