24 April 2007
The Standing Committee for the Somali Crisis (SCSC) would like to draw the world’s attention to the war crimes and crimes against humanity that Ethiopian troops have been committing against the civilian population of Mogadishu since last December when Ethiopia invaded the Somali Republic. The indiscriminate bombardment and use of tank shells, mortar shells, multiple rocket launchers and heavy artillery in a city of 2.5 million inhabitants is a gross violation of all international laws and norms and qualifies as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
As a direct result of the Ethiopian invasion, thousands of Somalis have been killed and more than five hundred thousand civilians have been displaced from their homes. Ethiopian troops have also destroyed thousands of properties and business outlets. The victims of these atrocities are mainly civilians and mostly women and children.
The mass exodus of Mogadishu inhabitants coupled with the lack of proper sanitation and shortage of clean drinking water have caused widespread outbreaks of cholera and diarrhea among the displaced Somali refugees.
So far the international community has not shown much concern, which is not surprising since the USA is overtly complicit in the genocide that is unfolding in the Somali Republic. The USA has not made secret its support for the illegal invasion of Ethiopia and has been supplying it with arms and ammunition, funds and political cover for its blatant aggression against the Somali Republic.
The European commission’s senior adviser on security on Somalia has written: "I need to advise you that there are strong grounds to believe that the Ethiopian government and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia and the AMISOM force commander...have through commission or omission violated the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court [ICC]." The senior adviser has accused Ethiopian and TFG troops of breaking international law by intentionally attacking civilians in Mogadishu and by ordering their displacement.
We believe that the European Union is equally complicit in the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Mogadishu since it is the largest financial contributor to the AMISOM troops.
The actual perpetrators of these genocidal crimes are the Ethiopian political leadership, its military commanders in the Somali Republic, the leadership of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of the Somali Republic (the President, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, the Prime Minister, Ali Mohamud Geddi, the Deputy Defense Minister, Ali Jelle) and the military commanders of the TFG.
We also hold AMISOM and its commanders responsible for the atrocities committed in Mogadishu for allowing Ethiopian helicopters gun ships to use the AMISOM-controlled airport in Mogadishu as a launching pad for Ethiopian military attacks against Somali civilians.
We urge the international community and aid agencies to send emergency relief (food, shelter and medicine) to the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced residents in and outskirts of Mogadishu. We also demand the international community to open the supply routes blocked by the Ethiopian occupation forces.
We urge the EU to immediately cut financial support for the TFG and AMISOM troops. EU should also investigate whether European funds are being used to facilitate the commission of war crimes and crime against humanity in Mogadishu by Ethiopian troops, TFG and AMISOM.
We Demand the establishment of war crime tribunal under International Criminal Court. And above all, we demand the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from the Somali Republic.
Mohamoud A. Nur
Interim Chair, the Standing Committee for the Somali Crisis (SCSC)
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(*) The Standing Committee for the Somali Crisis (SCSC) was set up on April 8th, 2007 by Somalis representing Somali Diaspora communities, representatives of Union of Islamic Courts and members of the Transitional Federal Parliament of the Somali Republic.
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