AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA
PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
The human rights organization said, as security in the capital city of Mogadishu deteriorates and conditions worsen, the civilian population is facing severe human rights abuses.
"In order to resolve this devastating conflict and stablize Somalia, we must first and foremost protect the lives of Somali citizens," said Lynn Fredriksson, Advocacy Director for Africa for AIUSA. "We are deeply concerned about this most recent upsurge in violence in and around Mogadishu and its deadly impact on civilians. While we are grateful for U.S. and other international statements expressing support for peacekeepers, inclusive political dialogue and reconstruction efforts, real progress in Somalia requires coordinated, comprehensive action to protect civilians now."
The conflict between Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and its opponents has caused more than 1,000 deaths since late February; 250 have died in the past week, most of them civilians killed by TFG and allied Ethiopian troops. An estimated 800 people have been injured in the last week and more than 300,000 have fled the conflict - a third of the population of Mogadishu.
Amnesty International has called on the TFG and the Ethiopian government, which provides its military support, to protect the civilian population under their commitment to international law.
Amnesty International also called on the TFG to immediately lift restrictions on and ensure the safety of humanitarian operations, and facilitate the movement of humanitarian supplies and personnel.
Amnesty International also renewed its call for the Kenyan government to re-open its border to asylum seekers from Somalia, particularly those in need of urgent medical care. Kenya should also allow humanitarian assistance across the border to displaced persons in Somalia, the human rights group said.
The U.N. Security Council is discussing the situation in Somalia today. The African Union peacekeeping force, AMISOM, was endorsed by the Security Council in February for a six-month operation leading to a possible UN peacekeeping operation. But AMISOM is still in the first stage of deployment, with only 1,200 Ugandan troops out of a projected multi-national force requirement of 8,000, and few resources yet provided for its overall mission.
The new cycle of violence arose mainly from the resumption of a TFG/Ethiopian security operation after in early April. TFG and Ethopian forces are fiercely opposed by remnants of the Council of Somali Islamic Courts (COSIC) and other fighters opposing to the presence of Ethiopian troops on Somali soil.
Ethiopian troops have been accused of indiscriminate shelling in civilian population areas, leading to hundreds of civilian deaths and mass displacement in Mogadishu. There have also been Attacks against Ethiopian troops from areas populated by civilians, thereby threatening the population.
Vulnerable civilians such as women, children, and the elderly have suffered heavily in this conflict. As the fighting in the capital spreads to Kismayu and other areas, many previously safe areas have now become dangerous. Kenya closed its border with Somalia in January, in breach of its international refugee protection obligations. In addition to looting and rape by criminal gangs, the displaced face dwindling supplies of food, and a lack of shelter, sanitation, health care and clean water. Humanitarian agencies have virtually no access to the majority of the displaced - who are primarily women, children and the elderly.
On April 23, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on parties to this conflict to immediately cease all hostilities and resume political dialogue.
Source: Amnesty International, April 25, 2007