Ugandan troops in Mogadishu Committed War crimes Killing 70 in 24 Hours

The Ugandan troops in Mogadishu have committed war crimes against the civilian population killing at least 70 and wounding more than 200 others in the past 24 hours. The Ugandans – part of an African Union peace-keeping contingence (Amison) - used heavy artillery and tank shells, targeting not the resistance fighters that encircled their compound, but the heavily populated districts and markets which lay far beyond them. The killing is deliberate and inexcusable.

These troops were supposed to help restore law and order and protect civilian population. Instead, they have broken all rules of engagement – (1) use minimum force necessary to control the situation and accomplish the mission and (2) minimize risk to innocent civilians without endangering the mission - by deliberately targeting the very people they were supposed to protect. The Ugandans seem to have duplicated the tactics used by the Ethiopian occupation forces that always targeted the civilian population whenever they are under attack.

Somali Concern Group (SCG) strongly condemns the brutality and killing of civilians in the hand of African peace-keepers and holds responsible the leadership of the African Union, IGAD and United Nations for not acting to prevent such atrocities to take place. SCG is shocked by the lack of response on the part of these organizations which seem to condone the killing of innocent civilians in a mission planned, funded and supported by them.

SCG calls upon the African Union Commissioner to withdraw the African peace-keepers since the killing of the innocent civilians continues unabated and peace-keepers massacre the civilians with impunity.

SCG also calls on the Secretary General of the United Nations to end the illegal Ethiopian occupation of Somalia which is the main source of insecurity and chaos in that country. Somalia is in the route of becoming the killing fields of Cambodia and Secretary General has every obligation to prevent that and only way to do that is to remove the Ethiopian occupation and African forces from Somalia.

SCG also calls upon the EU and Arab League to assume their responsibility and demand the withdrawal of the Ethiopian occupation forces to end the suffering of the people of Mogadishu. The occupation must end in order to resume dialogue and political negotiations.

SCG also demands the international donors to send relief supplies to the over a million displaced people with no shelter, food and water. The lives of the hundreds of thousands of malnourished children are at high risk as diarrhea and other diseases also take their toll. The UN and aid agencies had described Somalia as far worse than Darfur or Gaza.

We call upon friends of Somalia and peace loving people of the world to come to the aid of Somali people and work towards ending the illegal Ethiopian occupation while promoting peaceful settlement of the Somali conflict.

SCG calls upon all Somalis, particularly those in the Diaspora, to work in all their capacity to convince their governments to pressure the Africans and United Nations to force the Ethiopians and Ugandans out of Somalia.

SCG reiterates its commitment to working towards achieving peaceful settlement to the Somalia conflict. We believe that Somali conflict cannot be resolved by the barrel of the gun but through dialogue and negotiated settlement.

Thank you,

Mohamud Gure

Chair,

Somali Concern Groups is non-governmental organization committed to promoting peace, bridging differences and helping Somali people rebuild their lives by starting with the reconciliation of the Somali communities and reinstitution of the Somali state.