Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

The Known Unknowns of the Secret US Drone War in Somalia
This Is Hell
06 Mar 2019
🖨️ Print Article

US troops landed in oil-rich Somalia in 1992 and never really left. Over the years some have been replaced with drones and mercenary contractors, but Americans still prop up their version of a Somali government, headed by a US citizen whose writ doesn't go much beyond the capital. Obama bombed Somalia regularly, but under Trump the number of drone strikes have tripled, killing unknown numbers of Africans and terrorizing large swaths of the countryside. The US government doesn't even reveal which agency is conducting many of the bombing strikes, and next to no reporting on the long war in Somalia appears in the US press or broadcast media.

ThisIsHell host Chuck Mertz interviews Mogadishu based journalist Amanda Sperber. Amanda wrote the article "Inside the Secretive US Air Campaign In Somalia" for The Nation: www.thenation.com/article/somalia-…et-air-campaign/

This interview was originally broadcasted by our friends at ThisISHell.com on Saturday February 16, 2019.

Somalia
drone warfare

Related Podcasts

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Israel's Recognition of Somaliland Destabilizes the Horn of Africa
09 January 2026
Israel is the first and only nation to recognize the Somaliland region of Somalia as an independent state.
Map of the Horn of Africa
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Trump Administration Continues U.S. Destabilization of Somalia
21 February 2025
Abayomi Azikiwe, is the editor of Pan-African Newswire.

More Stories


  • BDS South Africa staged a Palestine solidarity protest in the Limpopo province
    Salim Vally
    Africa’s role in Palestinian Liberation–an Interview with Salim Vally
    20 Dec 2023
    ROAPE interviews South African Human Rights activist and academic Salim Vally on Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and the relationship between Palestinian liberation and Africa.
  • Achieng Oneko, Jomo Kenyatta, Makhan Singh, and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.
    Wairimu Gathimba
    Kenya at 60: Field notes from the Neocolony, and the Civilising Politics of Betterment in the Ruto Hustler Era
    20 Dec 2023
    Despite the veneer of progress, what does a historical critique of East Africa’s capitalist beacon reveal?
  • COP 28 Logo
    Abayomi Azikiwe
    COP28 Summit Concludes with Contradictory Agreement
    20 Dec 2023
    Although the final document calls for “transitioning” from fossil fuels, many developing states and territories wanted stronger language and economic commitments.
  • Two demonstrators standing side by side with one holding Palestine flag and other holding DR Congo flag
    Black Alliance For Peace
    AFRICOM Watch Bulletin #49
    20 Dec 2023
    The Black Alliance for Peace AFRICOM Watch Bulletin has the latest news from the African continent. AFRICOM Watch Bulletin #49 emphasizes the urgency for Africans and working-class people worldwide…
  • Black Agenda Radio December 15, 2023
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio December 15, 2023
    15 Dec 2023
    The Gaza relief effort, construction of the Ouanaminthe Canal in Haiti, and an improved process for crime survivor compensation in New York State.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us