Readers of the Guardian have raised £750 to help a seven-year-old boy injured in a US drone strike in Somalia, highlighting the goodness of strangers amid the inhumanity of war. Abdiqadir Salah suffered shrapnel injuries in the attack on Jamame, which also wounded his brother and sister. The funds will support his recovery, a cost his mother could not afford.
Drone Strike Kills 12 Civilians, Including Eight Children
The US drone strike on Jamame, Somalia, was the deadliest US attack in the east African country in 18 years. It killed at least 12 civilians, including eight children. The Guardian pieced together the incident using photos, videos, X-rays, and witness testimony. A grandfather rushed to the wreckage of his home to find his pregnant daughter-in-law and her two small children dead. Washington has never acknowledged the deaths.
Mother's Plea for Help
“What’s worse than being a mother who can’t do anything for her wounded children?” said Marian Haji Abdi Guled, mother of Abdiqadir, when she spoke to Guardian reporter Mohamed Gabobe. The US did nothing to help the family, according to the report.
Broader Pattern of Inaction
Guardian editor Tracy McVeigh noted that leaders in the US, Europe, and Africa continue to be “mealy-mouthed” in condemning the suffering of children in conflicts, citing the UK’s response to the crisis in Sudan and the UN report on Israeli targeting of children in Gaza. “Putting politics before people and warmongering before peacemaking are exactly why inhumanity thrives,” she wrote.
Other Global Developments
In other news, African and Asian midwives were denied visas to attend a conference in Portugal on preventing deaths in childbirth. In Kabul, the Taliban began destroying smartphones after banning their use by government officials. The first lady of Sierra Leone denied reports she supported female genital mutilation but said she would not condemn it without “reliable data.” Violent attacks on schools rose by 40% worldwide, with at least 10,600 students and staff killed, injured, abducted, or arrested in 83 countries, according to the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.
