Tag
Incidents involving Somalia, including U.S. airstrikes and military operations against al-Shabaab, civilian casualties from AFRICOM operations, and deportation of Somali nationals.
4 incidents
TPS was terminated or targeted for termination across 11 countries, de-documenting over 1 million people. Federal courts have blocked or paused several terminations. The State Department maintains 'Do Not Travel' advisories for many of the same countries DHS claims are safe for return.
US airstrikes in Somalia escalated dramatically in 2025, with AFRICOM claiming zero civilian casualties despite independent monitors documenting dozens of civilian deaths. AFRICOM stopped publishing casualty data and has never paid compensation for civilian harm in the country.
Trump's Somalia designation and overall loosening of targeting rules — including relaxing the 'near-certainty' standard for civilian safety — significantly increased the pace of airstrikes across multiple theaters. Airwars and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism documented substantial increases in civilian casualties in Somalia under the new rules. The administration also reduced the reporting requirements for civilian harm assessments, eliminating the only systematic public accounting of civilian harm.
Trump granted the military broader strike authority, designated large areas as 'Areas of Active Hostility' enabling expanded strike approvals, removed mandatory civilian harm mitigation steps, and stopped requiring senior White House approval for counterterrorism strikes. Airwars and the UN documented a sharp rise in civilian casualties across Somalia, Yemen, and Afghanistan.