U.S. Kills Tuareg Civilians in Libyan Airstrike

On November 29, 2018, US AFRICOM issued the following statement: “In coordination with the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), US Africa Command conducted a precision airstrike near Al Uwaynat, Libya, November 29, 2018, killing eleven al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) terrorists and destroying three vehicles. At this time, we assess no civilians were injured or killed in this strike.”

That was untrue. The strike killed 11 innocent Tuareg civilians and off-duty soldiers, who had been fighting ‘terrorists’ alongside the Americans. Relatives of the dead men asked the author to investigate. The results of that investigation are published in this report. US AFRICOM was promised a ‘right of reply’ and invited to give its side of the story. It did not take up the offer and continued to perpetrate its ‘lie’.

In 2022, relatives of the murdered men and representatives of three NGOs, filed a criminal complaint against the former Italian commander at the US air base in Sigonella, Sicily, from where the attack was launched. The complaint asked the public prosecutor’s office in Siracuse, where the base is located, to investigate and prosecute Col. Gianluca Chiriatti and other Italian officials involved in the attack for murder. The US has maintained its silence.