KISMAYO - The Guardian reported that United States forces stand accused of “weaponising” Somalia’s floods by trapping women and children in the path of rising water. In an exclusive report filed from Kismayo, the paper said coordinated airstrikes on territory held by al-Shabaab are pushing the civilian population to seek refuge alongside the River Juba, where rising water levels threaten their safety. The report was written by Mark Townsend and is available on The Guardian’s website.
The paper’s account centers on Cayni Ali, whose home stands five metres from the flooded River Juba in southern Somalia. According to The Guardian, the water had already reached her waist, and her home could not withstand it. Her situation, as described in the report, shows how quickly conditions changed for families living along the river.
The central question the report raises is whether the displacement is a deliberate military strategy. The Guardian posed that question directly in its summary, and the excerpt available for this story does not show whether the paper reached a firm conclusion. The headline also places the trapping of civilians in the path of El Niño, a reference the available text does not elaborate.
The available excerpt does not include a response from US forces or from any other party named in the reporting. The Guardian describes the material as exclusive, but the full text, its sourcing, and any official reaction were not part of the material reviewed for this story, so its claims cannot be independently assessed here.