Somalia PM faces questions in Parliament over Kenya airstrikes

Somalia’s Federal Parliament has summoned Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali to appear before it so as to discuss on the Kenya airstrikes against civilians in South-western part of the country.
In its session held on Monday, the Deputy speaker of Parliament said that majority of the MPs criticized the government for not responding to the Kenya air campaign on residential areas.
‘’The government seems not to bother about the dear lives of the innocent ones dying in the airstrikes by the Kenyan troops. Kenya is not above the law and will be held accountable,’’ said MP Abdifatah Matan.
According to officials and elders in the Gedo region, close to the Somalia-Kenya border, at least 40 people have died due to the airstrikes which have been going on now for over a week. This came after al-Shabaab militants raided a Kenyan military base in the region which caused the death of dozens of Kenyan soldiers, part of the African Union mission in Somalia.
Hundreds of families have been forced to leave their houses in El Adde village and surrounding areas to escape airstrikes.
Kenyan officials have said that the targets of the airstrikes are the hideouts of al-Shabaab militants. But local administration and elders say airstrikes struck civilian homes and fields.
Meanwhile, Kenyan forces have withdrawn from at least two tows in the Gedo and Lower Jubba regions.
Horseed Media