AU troops harming Somali civilians
2010-07-22 10:30
African Union peacekeepers are indiscriminately shelling
residential areas of Somalia’s capital, according to internal AU reports
reviewed by The Associated Press.
The evaluation was made months before Somali militants claimed they
carried out twin bombings that killed 76 people in Uganda last week – attacks
the insurgents said were to avenge civilian deaths caused by AU soldiers.
The series of reports, stamped for “Internal use only” and issued
from April to June, said that if indiscriminate shelling continues, the AU
mission will lose the support of the Somali people.
Civilians have suffered through nearly two decades of violent chaos
in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, since the country’s government was overthrown
in 1991.
Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militants now control large portions of
the capital, and much of the country’s southern and central regions.
The AU force, known as AMISOM, has long been criticised by human
rights groups for civilian deaths in Somalia, and the internal reports seen by
AP show the mission itself is aware of the problem.
In a report issued in May, the AU expressed concern that the force
“may not be adequately giving the issue of indiscriminate shelling of civilians
the urgent attention it deserves”.
A similar report in June said AMISOM “continues to underestimate
the importance of being seen to address this critical issue”.
An AU spokesperson, Major Barigye Bahoku, denied yesterday that AU
forces kill civilians, saying the deaths are caused by extremists who attack
government and AU troops.
Bahoku said: “Too many civilians are caught in the crossfire, but
the responsibility for this lies on the destructive extremists who unleash
reckless attacks on (government) and AMISOM forces.”
Al-Shabab, the Muslim militant group that claimed responsibility
for the July 11 attacks on a Kampala rugby club and restaurant packed with
people watching the World Cup final on television, had long threatened to strike
outside of Somalia’s borders.
Uganda is one of two African nations that contribute troops to the
more than 5 000-member AU force in Somalia.
Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, al-Shabab’s spokesperson, said: “We warned
Uganda not to deploy troops to Somalia; they ignored us. We warned them to stop
massacring our people, and they ignored that. The explosions in Kampala were
only a minor message to them. We will target them everywhere if Uganda does not
withdraw from our land.”
He said Burundi, which also contributes to the AU force, could also
face attacks.
Shelling is a near-daily occurrence in Somalia’s capital, and
international rights groups have decried the deadly impact on civilians.
Human Rights Watch said in a report in April that major parties to
the conflict have carried out “numerous indiscriminate attacks with terrible
consequences for the civilian population”.
The report accused Somali government troops and African
peacekeepers of lobbing mortar rounds toward areas considered the source of
incoming fire, or “simply bombarding areas such as Bakara market that are
opposition strongholds”.
Human Rights Watch said: “Such attacks, while of limited military
value, cause considerable loss of civilian life and property damage.”
Somalia’s former state minister for defence, Yusuf Mohamed Siyad,
told the AP he once witnessed more than 60 artillery shells, missiles and
mortars fired into residential areas and the Bakara market in response to three
mortars fired by militants.
Siyad resigned from his position last month because he said the
government had failed to deliver either security or services to the
public.
Earlier this month, after an artillery shell killed families who
sought shelter in a building in another popular market, the head of Mogadishu’s
ambulance service said he believed the round was too strong to have been fired
by Islamist militants.
Ali Muse said: “It was so strong that it obliterated the building.
The scene was scary. Human flesh was scattered everywhere.”
- Sapa - AP