“We never feared drones until they killed Omar"
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Al-Shabaab (militant group)
15 min read
Central to understanding the article's context - the U.S. drone campaign targets this Al Qaeda-linked group, and the victim was falsely accused of being an operative. Understanding Al-Shabaab's history, ideology, and operations in Somalia provides essential background.
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United States Africa Command
12 min read
AFRICOM claimed responsibility for the strike and has dramatically escalated drone operations under Trump. Understanding this military command's structure, mission, and history of operations in Africa contextualizes the broader drone campaign discussed.
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Puntland
13 min read
This autonomous Somali state where the strike occurred has a complex relationship with the federal government and withdrew from the federal system in 2024. Understanding Puntland's unique political status, the clan system, and its role in fighting extremism illuminates why local leaders like Abdullahi were so important.
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MOGADISHU—On September 13, Omar Abdullahi, a high-profile clan chief in Somalia’s Sanaag province, called his wife to tell her that he was on his way home from a nearby town, and to ask her to prepare dinner for the evening. Abdullahi was on the road back to Badhan, a remote town in the northeast of the country, returning to mediate a clan dispute, one of the responsibilities he held as a local community leader.
Abdullahi never reached home. On the drive back, his car was struck by three missiles fired by a drone overhead, incinerating his vehicle and killing him instantly. Only a piece of his stomach remained in the burnt-out wreckage, according to a death certificate seen by Drop Site News.
The strike shocked residents of Badhan and members of the Warsangeli clan that he hailed from. They had largely avoided the U.S.’s two-decade shadow war against the Al Qaeda-linked group al-Shabaab, and the Islamic State. Abdullahi himself was a prominent local elder, who residents and local government officials said was widely known and respected in the region.
Three months later, Asha Abdi Mohamed, Abdullahi’s mother, told Drop Site that she lives with the trauma of his killing. “I always have flashbacks of him being burned in a car. That is why I’m scared to sleep at night,” she said. “The soil under my feet was moving when I found out it was Omar who was killed.” Mohamed said that the drones continue to fly near Badhan; adding that she quietly prays for them to fall from the sky in order to be at ease.
Hawa Ahmed Ali, his wife, was waiting for him when Abdullahi’s sister suddenly arrived with the news that a vehicle had been hit on the road that he was traveling. She recalled that it was raining that day, a rare occurrence in Somalia’s harsh climate. “I didn’t want to believe it
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