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.

Ethiopian Troops Leave Mogadishu

Ethiopian troops in Tanker military vehicles depart their Mogadishu's residential base today. At least 18 military vehicles carrying Ethiopian troops were seen leaving Mogadishu taking the road from Mogadishu to Baidoa.



It is not clear their destination, or how many of them still remain in Mogadishu as the number of Ethiopian troops left Mogadishu is unknown. However, sources indicate two different scenarios for their departure from the Capital city of Somalia.

Some sources claim the Ethiopian army's departure of Mogadishu is a first step to Ethiopia's withdrawal from Somalia, a scenario hinted by Melez Zenawi earlier last week. Other sources contradict that the Tigres are simply moving their infantry to new bases for better security of their army. One should note there is still a large number of Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu.

It was not long ago that the Transitional Federal Government and the leaders of the liberation army agreed to sign a peace deal which dictates the Ethiopian troops to leave residential areas as whole. It is possible this may be why the Tigre army is vacating their bases in Mogadishu.

Ethiopia hints at leaving Somalia - BBC News

Ethiopia invaded its neighbour in 2006 to oust an Islamist militia and re-install the transitional government. He told the UK's Financial Times paper that financial pressures had to be taken into account and said the commitment was not open ended.


The withdrawal of Ethiopians is a key demand of the Islamist insurgents. Al-Shabab, the radical wing of the Islamists who controlled much of Somalia in 2006, has refused to recognise a recent UN-brokered agreement the interim government has signed with an opposition group including a top Islamist leader. It has demanded that Ethiopian troops leave Somalia before any ceasefire is considered.

Somalia has experienced almost constant civil conflict since the collapse of Mohamed Siad Barre's regime in January 1991.

'Lose patience'
"The operation has been extremely expensive so we will have to balance the domestic pressures on the one hand and pressures in Somalia on the other and try to come up with a balanced solution," Mr Meles told the Financial Times.

We didn't anticipate that the international community would be happy riding the Ethiopian horse and flogging it at the same time for so long said Prime Minister Meles Zenawi who has been struggling to reconcile a rift within the Somali interim government.

The Somalia president and prime minister fell out over the sacking of the mayor of the capital, Mogadishu, which has experienced the brunt of the violence.

The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, says Mr Meles's remarks may partly have been intended to concentrate the minds of the Somali leadership by pointing out that if Ethiopia really did lose patience it could pull out and leave them to their own devices.
He did express the hope that a replacement force would be fully or nearly fully deployed before the Ethiopian troops left.

But he added that given past practice, Ethiopia could never be sure when the African Union could deploy in any meaningful sense.

He also blamed the West for the continuing instability, saying it had offered lukewarm political and financial support for an African Union peacekeeping force.

"We didn't anticipate that the international community would be happy riding the Ethiopian horse and flogging it at the same time for so long," he said.

So far only about 2,200 of a planned 8,000-strong AU peacekeeping force have been sent to Somalia.
BBC News

Zenawi's Minister Calls Somali TFG Heads Liars and Incompetent

The Ethiopian Foreign Minister accused the Somali Prisident and the Somali Prime Minister of being responsible for the unrest in Somalia.

Melez Zenawi's Foreign Minister accused the Somali TFG's President and Prime Minister of being behind the civilian displacement and the country's unrest. He said that the two top heads of the TFG lie to the Zenawi government and to the International community when the claim that anti-government groups are causing the civilian unrest in Somalia. On the contrary, the Ethiopian minister that that they do not do their responsibilities to the Somali government properly, but rather busy themselves with propaganda to deceive the International donors.

The minister continued that the two persons have no experience in managing a unity government and that they mostly look out for the their respective relatives and sub-clans.

The Ethiopian minister's accusations arise at a time the TFG President and Prime Minister are in Addis Ababa, the Capital city of EThiopia, as they get rebreifing from their so called boss, Melez Zenawi. The majority of the Somalis call the TFG a cover-up puppet government that is put together to legitimize the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia.

It was early this week that Abdullahi Yusuf ordered his militia to bombard the biggest market in Somalia, Bakaraha, with heavy artillery including BM shells. The Bakaraha is located in the heart of Mogadishu housing the majority of capital city's residents. It is also the heart of the financial district of Somalia. The TFG militia routinely target Bakaraha to conduct robberies and collect tariffs while they rob banks, money transfer companies, and small Qat shops on a regular basis.

Abdullahi Yusuf is also linked to pirates operating in Puntland region.

Somali blogs and news will keep you posted on any additional reports coming of out of Mogadishu about this story.
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Five year old girl dead after being used as Target practice in Somalia by Ethiopian army sniper

On June 28 or sometime late of 27th of June, the Ethiopian troops entered Guri'el, a city in the Galgaduud region. The troops killed several people after they used as target practice. At least 5 people were reported killed by the invaders in this small city near Dusamareeb, the capital city of Galgaduud. Civilians in Guri'el report that among the dead was a 5 year old returning home from school who was shot by the Ethiopian army right infront her home. Apparently, she was targeted by a soldier a few hundred meters away with a sniper gun, perhaps show casing his talent.

The undiscriminate killings of the Ethiopian troops that arrived recently in Guri'el city resembles the tactics they use to create feer in the residents of Mogadishu, but rather forced the young men living in the Guri'el city to take up arms, and as a result, the Ethiopians were attacked from all corners of the city. There are also reports that unconfirmed number of Al-Shabab fighters showed up in the city later that day and their persistant attacks forced the Ethiopians to withdraw out of the city and build a premeter in a nearby strategic place. Nonetheless, the fighting between Alshabab fighters and the Ethiopian troops continue in the outskirts of the city.

In the past few months, Guri'el, spelled Guriceel in Somali, was a calm and peaceful city where many residents welcomed a large number of people fleeing the chaos and the nonstop violence in nearby Beledweyne, the capital city of the Hiiraan region,which was a large base for the Ethiopian troops untill they were recently chased out by SRA and Alshabab fighters. As a result, the forgein troops are looking for a save haven somewhere in Somalia.

Does Somalia deserve the top spot in a failed state list?

Earlier this week, a global survey of states most at risk of failure named Somalia and Sudan as the top two most unstable countries in the world. As reported by VOA, both African countries are embroiled in complex internal and external conflicts that are destabilizing neighboring countries and threatening tens of millions of people.

How about that?, The americans first start the conflict and maintain the externel influence to continue destaibilization and then turn around and have their news agencies report it.

Read the full report by By Alisha Ryu, from her Nairobi office. http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-27-voa44.cfm

Report Says Somalia, Sudan Destabilizing East African Region

Should Somalia Celebrate its July 1st Independence Day?

Mogadishu is pounded by heavy artillary on a daily basis by and uninvited Ethiopian army. These days, it is not so uncommon to hear the sounds of PM artillary and to smell the gun powder while heavy smoke is every where specially in the most economically functional area of the city such as the Bakara market. It is an understatement, to say the least, that innocent people are terrified to live in the capital as they face harsh life full of fear. Those who can get away, didn't go far as they relocated to outskirts of Mogadishu but they are neither safe nor in good living conditions.

The rest of the country is not much better off as there are conflicts everywhere except for a few states such as Somaliland. Basically, Somalia in general is occupied by unwelcome Ethiopian troops, although there are freedom fighters chasing them everywhere they are. At least that is the picture one can conclude from reading most Somali news web sites.

Regardless of the resistance and relibration's efforts to oust the Tigres, Somalia is not on its feet at a time when its independence is coming in a few days. You see, July 1st is the day, as Somalis all over the world know, Somalia took its independence from Italy and England. Every year, the somalis celebrate this day for their independence. But should this year be skipped? Only to remind ourselves that we are under enemy occupation?

What do you think? Let your voice be heard because the world is listening. Click on Comments to Add Comment link below to express your opinion here.

Does Al-qaeda have influence in the Somali-Ethiopian conflict?

Welcome brothers and sisters where we discuss issues relating to our country so others can join our struggle and feel sorry for us! With that said, I have read news on dalkanews.com that there is Al-Qaida influence in the Somali-Ethiopia war.


As I qoute, "“ Waxaan ka Codsanaynaa Ururka Al- Qaacida in ay arimaha soomaaliya faraha kala Baxaan maxaa Yeelay hadaan diinta islaamka isku xukumayno iyo Hadii kale anaga ayay noo taalaa shacabka Soomaaliyeedna Waxaan ugu baaqayaa in ay taageeraan Heshiiskii Jabuuti," ayuu yiri Cabdiraxmaan Cabdishakuur.

"We request that Al-Qaeda to leave the Somalia situation because if we, the somalis, are to rule ourselves in the Shari-ah, it is up to ourselves",said Cabdiraxmaan Cabdishakuur. Abdirahman Abdishakur is one of the political leaders who signed the agreement recently in DJabuuti on behalf of the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (A.R.S.)


This was reported in Dalkanews. So I beg to ask, is there really Al-Qaeda representative in midst of the Somali community? The second question is, are the somalis better with or without their help?

How does american pay to kill Somalis?

While you and I are sitting infront of a computer basically enjoying peace and calm in our lives, there are people in many places in Africa struggling to survive. If you live in the west, it is next to impossible to know what I mean. Really. How many of us living in North America, or in Europe ever witnessed a murder? No, the TV and movies certainly don't count in real life. I am talking about a real cold blooded murder where a soldier stopped a civilian right in the street, then aim his AK-47 at him, and then right there infront of everybody that was there, shut the civilian right in forehead. Now, you ask yourself, have you ever seen anything closer to that brutality, happening to so many innocent people? What if I told you that you could be the one financing that same soldier to kill thousands of young women and children with missiles and automatic guns as the defendlessly cry and beg for their life?

Everyone denies what they can't admit to. It is in human nature to say, "It is not my fault, it is someone else's fault". But, the fact is what the truth tells.

Africa is a continent whose countries are controlled by dictators. Zimbabwe, we all know who the dictator is. Ithiopia, his name is Zinawi. etc etc. The governments are ruthless and in order to stay in power they usually have to resort to making sure everyone is in check and that no political movements or other orginaziation can say or do anything not in the governments interest. But people do. So the government imprisons, torturs or kills members of the civilian population who, regardless of the extents of their actions, do something anti-govermental. Just recently, a couple years back, a prime example was when Melez Zenawi, the Ethiopian dictator, ordered his military to shoot at a gathering of students demonstrating against him after fixing an election. The Zenawi government is not legit and all Ethiopians know that. In fact, there is a struggle against him with rural areas being attached everyday by armed millitias. So he kills every citizen who speaks of them or the facts, or says something. Similarly, we all know what Mugabi in Zimbabwe does to his people, the same Saddaam Husein did, but that another story.

Killing your people, those that are citizens of the country your dictatorly rule, and killing people from other nations is totally a different thing. That is why America is hated all over Arab countries. They kill, or help kill foreigners. But fortunately, the American government cannot kill its people because it is a democratic country. Well it atleast cannot kill its people in broad day light. Regardless, it does contribute to killing people overseas, especially in Africa. I am not even going to mention IRAQ because that is well documented. But, I refuse, and I must, as an african to stay quiet while african people are killed by foreigners because it suits their interest.

Here is the situation, take Somalia for example. It is a small country whose population no more than 10 million people. But the country is located in a strategic geographical area where there is unexplored oil, natural gas, and minerals. So it is a hot bed for oil exploriation companies as they all have their eye on it. The bigger company you are, the most influence on who explores that oil you want to be.

Apparently, this is the truth because there are documented news stating there are several amercian, European and asian companies running around inside the country eventhough the country is at war with Ethiopia. A simple google search Somalia Oil keyword will return numerous links and mostly about oil companies. But you might not hear this fact. Goerge Bush sent US Troops, under the cover of helping starving somalis, so he can get influence for his oil company in the exploration of this untouched oil reserves. His son, then came back to Somali again a decade later, again under the cover of rooting out al-qaida-, so he can get influence for his oil company. But this time, the jr. Bush will not leave because he does not have troops on the ground in the cities to be attacked like what happened back in 1993. We all know black hawk down movie.

Instead of getting american troops killed, this Jr. Bush, decided to hire someone whose lives he don't have to protect. Wait, who is dumb enough to do this? No country in the world wants his people getting killed for something they will not profit from. Wait, what about the dumb hungry, ignorant, ugly africans!?

Yes, you guessed it. Bush hired an african dictator to do the dirty work. This dictator is Ethiopian ruler, Melez Zenawi. Now instead of American troops fighting for oil, it is Melez Zenawi fighting for his security - apparently the ruthless can claim his christian country's security is at risk by muslim government in somali taking hold in the future- amazing.

So you see, Zenawi's troops are walking around in Somalia killing anyone they feel is looking at their direction. They are shooting rockets anywhere and everywhere and every direction, and as a result, young children and women, and basically anyone in the country is a target because no one cares who gets killed and who dies.

To think that the money given to Zenawi to keep his troops there comes from american tax payers, it is a shame this has to go on! Wonder why everyone hates americans!

Facts are what truth says! Check google for keywords like, somalian war, somalia invaded, ethiopian occupation in somalia, oil exploration in somalia. The somali Oil war and you will see what I am talking about.