Wednesday September 23, 2015
This file photo shows a US Predator drone armed with a missile (AFP Photo)
A Somali man is suing the German government for its alleged role in the death of his herdsman father in a 2012 US assassination drone strike in the African country.Prosecutors in the German town of Zweibruecken said on Tuesday the Somali man, who is represented by an American firm, claims Germany is a complicit in his father’s death because US drone strikes in Africa are carried out from the European country.US drones in Africa are operated from the US Africa Command and the US military’s Ramstein Air Base, both located in southern Germany.
German judiciary spokesman, Martin Grasshoff, said the complaint is being examined to determine whether there is enough evidence to open an investigation.
In May, a court in Cologne rejected a similar case, saying there was little German authorities could do due to treaty obligations, and the US had agreed to operate Ramstein in accordance with German and international laws.
Washington employs its assassination drones in several other countries - including Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen - to target what it claims to be militants.
In early July, a US non-governmental organization - US Global Drones Watch – said Washington must refrain from staging a unilateral drone campaign in Somalia.
According to the Human Rights Watch (HRW), the US drone strikes have killed many civilians over the past few years in a blatant violation of international law.