Hiiraan Online
Saturday, August 15, 2015
BELEDWEYNE (HOL)---For the villagers in Halgan, a rural town in Hiiraan region, life under the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabab group has never been easier, with fighters harassed pastoralists and coerced them to pay donations to fund the group’s insurgency for years.
However, the capture of the town by allied forces last week was the beginning of a new hope for the barren town, but not any longer as Ethiopian troops immediately greeted them with a scene of carnage by brutally murdering at least seven pastoralists after stopping a small car carrying villagers heading to a burial site where a deceased elder was being buried.
“They separated us from the car and the animals on it – then they started blowing the car with grenades,” said Halima Ahmed, a 35-years-old woman who was wounded in the atrocities as she lied on a hospital bed in Mogadishu.
“At that moment, they made us to walk for several kilometers, then one Ethiopian soldier dropped a grenade from his hand to frame us into being Alshabab members – he said these people are Al-Shabab.” She said.
As soldiers settled on killing the civilians, one removed the safety clip of a grenade and threw them at the civilians who were forced to kneel down for execution, according to the survivors.
“He threw three grenades at us and all failed to go off – then they started shooting us randomly at a close range – they have killed six persons, six including me were wounded and six others escaped by foot.” Ms. Ahmed said.
Inside the Madina hospital where the wounded victims were brought in, gravely wounded Adan Salad, a 25 years old man lies unconscious, with a bandaged fully wrapped on his head – he’s unable to talk, however his upset father gathers his utmost courage to talk.
“They have inhumanely shot these innocent people with AK47 gun – they shot them one by one including one child.” He said sadly.
He called for the weak UN-backed Somali government to intervene and help victims to get compensation from Ethiopian troops.
Human rights group often accuse Ethiopian troops in Somalia of killing civilians and committing atrocities including slitting people’s throats and gouging out eyes and gang raping woman in a country where accountability for the rights violations by foreign forces never existed.
Ethiopian troops who have helped ousting militants out of key towns are usually accused of ignoring international combat laws by committing war crimes against humanity.