The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) denied that the U.S. airstrike on February 15 caused the death of the two Cuban doctors kidnapped by the jihadist group Al Shabab in Somalia.
In a recent report, AFRICOM confirmed the occurrence of an airstrike near Jilib, a town in southern Somalia. However, military authorities denied that this attack resulted in the death of the Cuban doctors.
On February 17th, Al Shabab claimed that the airstrike hit a house in Jilib, causing the immediate death of Assel Herrera and Landy Rodríguez.
The United States government said it would initiate an investigation to determine if this was true. After a detailed review, AFRICOM concluded that there were no civilian casualties in said operation.
The Cuban government has not been able to accurately inform about what is happening with the kidnapped doctors. The authorities on the island blamed the U.S. government for the possible death of the physicians.
Esteban Lazo, president of the National Assembly of Cuba, visited Kenya in February and met with President William Ruto to learn details about the alleged death of the two doctors, but after several days in the African country, he returned to the island without specific information.
Doctors Assel Herrera Correa and Landy Rodríguez Hernández were kidnapped on April 12, 2019, in Mandera, Kenya, during a routine transfer to the local hospital.
In May 2019, traditional leaders from Kenya and Somalia reported having seen Cuban doctors providing services in the Jubaland region of Somalia, controlled by Al Shabab. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of 1.5 million dollars for the release of the doctors.
The group of Cuban doctors, to which Herrera and Rodríguez belonged, was sent to Kenya in 2018 as part of a bilateral agreement to improve access to specialized healthcare services in the African country.
The United States has carried out several military operations against Al Shabab in cooperation with the Somali army since 2007.
The President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, announced a "total war" against the jihadists in August 2022, which has intensified AFRICOM's airstrikes against the terrorist group, affiliated with Al Qaeda since 2012.
Somalia has been immersed in conflict and chaos since 1991, following the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, which has left the country without an effective government and under the control of various Islamist militias and warlords.
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