I will note additional specific recommendations from Amnesty International after outlining a few of the most disturbing aspects of recent findings. This information was obtained on a November/December 2007 mission to Nairobi, Kenya and Hargeisa, Somaliland to meet with international actors and interview refugees from southern and central Somalia, as well as recent reporting on the state of human rights in Ethiopia and Eritrea. A short report on the targeting of journalists in Somalia, entitled Journalists under Attack, is already available, and a full report on our findings on Somalia, entitled Who Will Protect Human Rights in Somalia, will be made available in the coming weeks.
Recent Findings on Human Rights Violations in Somalia: Abuses by all parties to the conflict Amnesty International has documented ongoing human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict in Somalia, including unlawful killings, rape, arbitrary detention, and attacks on civilians and civilian property. Some 6,000 civilians are estimated to have been killed in Mogadishu and across southern and central Somalia in 2007. Over 600,000 are reported to have been displaced in 2007, and a further 50,000 so far this year, joining some 400,000 already displaced from previous periods, for a total of over one million internally displaced persons in southern and central Somalia today. In addition, an estimated 335,000 refugees fled Somalia in 2007, seeking safety in other countries. On February 14, 2008 UNICEF announced that some 90,000 children could die in the next few months if the international community doesn’t increase funding for nutrition, water and sanitation programs in Somalia.
Our findings from November and December included testimony and other information reporting frequent incidents of rape and pillaging by the TFG, a recent surge in violent abuses by Ethiopian armed forces in Somalia, and the targeting of Somali journalists and human rights defenders by all parties to the conflict. House to house searches and raids in neighborhoods around Mogadishu were carried out by both TFG and Ethiopian forces, as were violent abuses against individuals and groups on the streets.
“Armed groups” in Somalia constitute a range of non-state combatants fighting the TFG, including remnants of the Islamic Courts Union, supporters of the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia, and Shabab youth militia. Sub-clan and other local political leaders have also acted outside of the law, as have bandits and clan militia conducting raids, robberies and violent attacks on civilians. While the command structures within these entities are opaque, and non-state armed groups and criminal elements are more difficult to identify by dress, vehicle or
appearance, some leaders have made themselves known and should be held responsible for the conduct of their forces.
Those fleeing armed violence in Mogadishu have faced violence on the roads north toward Puntland and west toward Afgooye and Baidoa, including theft, rape and shootings. Once they arrive at displacement settlements and camps, IDPs and refugees have faced further violence, and a lack of access to essential services, including clean water, medical care, and adequate food supplies. Humanitarian operations attempting to deliver these services have frequently been impeded by the TFG and other parties to the conflict and armed criminal groups, as well as overall high levels of insecurity throughout Somalia.
Violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law by TFG and Ethiopian forces From testimonies we have collected, Amnesty International has concluded that until mid to late 2007 TFG forces are believed to be responsible for the majority of incidents of theft, looting, beatings and rape in and around Mogadishu. For example, one eyewitness reported seeing TFG soldiers seizing mobile phones from Somalis outside of a mosque as men were leaving Friday prayers. Somali civilians reported that they were more afraid of TFG forces than Ethiopians. This situation shifted in late 2007 with growing reports of increased incidents of theft, looting,
beatings and rape, as well as unlawful killings, by Ethiopian forces.
This shift followed fighting in early November 2007 when several Ethiopian soldiers’ bodies were dragged through the streets, recalling images of Somali gunmen dragging the bodies of American marines through the streets of Mogadishu after clan militia downed two Black Hawk helicopters in 1993. The shift also followed reported deployments of new Ethiopian troops to Somalia as more seasoned veterans were reported to have been transferred to Ethiopia’s border with Eritrea when threats of renewed conflict along the border intensified in November.