US Air Strikes Surge in Somalia as Civilian Families Say the Human Cost Goes Uncounted
As United States air strikes in Somalia have intensified sharply, the price paid by civilian families has come into focus through the accounts of those affected. Under President Donald Trump, US operations against armed groups have escalated, and the impact of that campaign has fallen on ordinary people's lives.
Mariam Haji Abdi Guled still takes her son to school by the hand every day and brings him back herself. Nearly a year ago, a suspected US strike in southern Somalia left shrapnel embedded in her son's body, still lodged near his hip.
The boy, Abdiqadir Salah, was seven when he was injured during a November 2025 military offensive involving US air strikes and Somali ground forces around Jamaame, in Somalia's southern Jubaland state. Doctors have warned that removing the fragment could leave him paralysed.
Mariam says she watches over him because she fears another child might push him while playing and disturb the metal fragment. In her words, aircraft never leave them, night or day, and they have become accustomed to the sound.
The memory of that day still haunts the family. After her children returned from school, Mariam was preparing breakfast when they heard a roar overhead. The children ran outside towards the noise. She followed to bring them back inside, then a munition struck nearby, followed by another explosion near the front door and more bombardment around the house.
Three of Mariam's six children were wounded in that attack, with Abdiqadir suffering the most serious injuries. It took her more than a day and a night — more than 24 hours — to reach medical care in Mogadishu. During that journey her son bled and struggled with pain.
By the numbers, strikes have also increased. Public records from US Africa Command (AFRICOM) listed 84 strikes in Somalia through September 2026, while the New America Foundation, which independently tracks the campaign, documented 88 over the same period.
The US military has acknowledged conducting air strikes in the area on November 14 and 15, 2025. But it disputes allegations that its aircraft caused civilian casualties. AFRICOM said it had assessed reports that US operations killed between 10 and 12 civilians and destroyed homes and businesses in Jamaame.
AFRICOM concluded that the information reviewed did not meet its 'more likely than not' threshold — meaning, in its view, it was not established that US strikes caused the reported harm. It said the assessment could be reopened if new information emerged. But it did not say whether investigators had spoken to survivors, relatives, hospital staff or local authorities.
Independent monitoring presents a different picture. A monitoring network led by the UN refugee agency documented 12 civilian deaths during fighting and air strikes around Jamaame between November 16 and 18, 2025. In the same period, 22,800 people fled Jamaame and surrounding villages, described as rapid and widespread displacement. Damage to shops and storage facilities, restrictions on movement and psychological distress among those who escaped were also reported.
For farmer Ali Aden Borrow, 52, the offensive devastated his family. Away from home, he received a phone call telling him his wife had been hit. She was nine months pregnant and trying to gather their children to escape when debris from an air strike struck her neck. She and her unborn child died. Their three surviving children now live with their grandmother, while Ali moves between villages and Kismayo searching for work, in debt and having received little outside assistance.
Another farmer, Nuur Ali Nuur, saw his wife injured during the same period of fighting. Debris struck her lower body and right hand, leaving her paralysed from the waist down. Their youngest daughter, still breastfeeding, was also slightly injured. With five children, Nuur cannot afford better treatment for his wife and still owes money for her care. Anna Zahn, the US-based archive lead at Airwars, said the consequences of air strikes can last for years and injuries are often under-reported in Somalia. Whether the affected families will ever obtain justice remains unresolved.
