Nearly a year after a suspected US strike in southern Somalia left shrapnel embedded in her son’s body, Maryam Haji Abdi Guled still feels compelled to accompany him to school.
asserted
Guled → suspect → school
She fears another child might push him while playing, disturbing a fragment of metal lodged near his hip.
uncertain
child → fear → hip
Doctors have warned that removing it could leave him paralysed.
uncertain
removing → warn → him
Recommended Stories
list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Somalia won’t accept Israeli presence ‘under any circumstances’: President
- list 2 of 3Four African leaders issue joint declaration as Ethiopia war escalates
- list 3 of 3Labour fends off the Green party in closely watched UK by-election
“I hold his hand, take him to school, and I bring him back myself.
asserted
I → accept → him
I watch over him,” she told Al Jazeera.
asserted
she → watch → Jazeera
Her son, Abdiqadir Salah, was seven when he was injured during a November 2025 military offensive involving United States air strikes and Somali ground forces around Jamaame, in Somalia’s southern Jubaland state.
asserted
he → injure → state
Maryam is among several survivors interviewed by Al Jazeera in recent months who say family members were killed or seriously injured during the offensive.
asserted
members → interview → offensive
Their accounts describe deaths, displacement, lost livelihoods and injuries that continue to shape their lives.
asserted
that → describe → lives
Their testimonies come as US air operations against armed rebel groups in Somalia have intensified sharply under President Donald Trump.
asserted
operations → come → Trump
Public records from the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) listed 84 strikes in Somalia through September 2026, while the New America Foundation, which independently tracks the campaign, documented 88 over the same period.
asserted
which → list → period
The US military has acknowledged conducting air strikes in the area on November 14 and 15, 2025.
asserted
military → acknowledge → November
But it disputes allegations that its aircraft caused civilian casualties.
asserted
aircraft → dispute → casualties
AFRICOM told Al Jazeera it had completed an assessment of reports that US operations killed between 10 and 12 civilians and destroyed homes and businesses in Jamaame.
asserted
operations → tell → Jamaame
It concluded that the information reviewed did not meet the military’s “more likely than not” threshold for determining that US air strikes had caused the reported harm.
asserted
strikes → conclude → harm
That finding does not establish that US strikes caused no harm.
asserted
strikes → establish → harm
Rather, AFRICOM said the evidence did not establish that US operations were more likely than not to have caused the reported casualties and damage.
asserted
operations → say → casualties
Al Jazeera asked whether investigators had spoken to survivors, relatives of those killed, hospital staff, local authorities or other witnesses.
asserted
investigators → ask → those
AFRICOM did not say whether they had done so.
asserted
they → say → ?
The command said the assessment could be reopened if new information emerged that might change its findings.
uncertain
that → say → findings
The conclusion contrasts with accounts from families who say they witnessed the bombardment and with independent monitoring reports documenting civilian deaths and mass displacement during the offensive.
asserted
they → contrast → offensive
For those who lost loved ones or were left caring for seriously injured relatives, whether they will ever obtain justice remains unresolved.
asserted
obtain → lose → justice
A morning of bombardment
Maryam remembers the morning aircraft appeared over Jamaame.
asserted
aircraft → remember → Jamaame
She was preparing breakfast after her children returned from school when they heard a roar overhead.
asserted
they → prepare → roar
Aircraft had become so common that the family no longer regarded the sound as unusual.
asserted
family → become → sound
“The aircraft never leave us, night or day, and we have become accustomed to them,” she said.
asserted
she → leave → them
Her children ran outside towards the noise.
asserted
children → run → noise
Maryam followed, intending to bring them back inside before the family fled.
asserted
family → follow → them
Then a munition struck nearby, followed by another explosion near the front door.
asserted
munition → strike → door
More bombardment followed around the house.
asserted
bombardment → follow → house
Maryam believes the attack on her home was carried out by US drones that had been circling over the town before the bombardment.
asserted
that → believe → bombardment
Ugaas Ahmed Ugaas Said Ali, a Bimaal clan chief who remains in regular contact with families affected by the attacks, said the suffering extended far beyond those who had managed to leave Jamaame.
asserted
who → remain → Jamaame
“Maryam is one of the fortunate people who has been able to obtain medical care.
asserted
who → obtain → care
There are many injured people left in the town from that offensive who haven’t been able to make it to Mogadishu,” he said.
asserted
he → be → Mogadishu
The costs that remain
Maryam recalled one munition hitting the ground without exploding, while other strikes killed people nearby.
asserted
strikes → remain → people
Three of her six children were wounded, including Abdiqadir, who suffered the most serious injuries.
asserted
who → wound → injuries
It took her a day and a night to reach medical care in Mogadishu.
asserted
It → take → Mogadishu
During the journey, which lasted more than 24 hours, her son bled and struggled with pain.
asserted
son → last → pain
Her experience was one of several reported during days of fighting in and around Jamaame.
asserted
experience → report → Jamaame
According to Jubaland authorities, Somali government and regional forces, including the US-trained Danab commando unit, launched operations against positions held by the armed group al-Shabab in villages surrounding the town.
uncertain
forces → accord → town
The authorities said at least 56 al-Shabab fighters were killed and 20 captured.
asserted
20 → say → ?
…and 89 more, not listed.
The Aporia
