STAND at USM

Last Update: Sep. 30, 2008 **From the Genocide Intervention Network**

Since January 2007, a resurgence of violence in Somalia has killed thousands and displaced more than one million innocent, non-combatant civilians. Somali insurgents, the transitional government's armed forces, and Ethiopian troops have devastated Mogadishu and its surrounding areas with indiscriminate bombings and targeting of Somali civilians. The United Nations called the current situation in Somalia the "world's worst humanitarian disaster" in December 2007, a title previously held by the conflict in Darfur. In the early part of 2008, Amnesty International reported that the killing of civilians in Somalia has become routine.

In early June, the Transitional Federal Government and one of the opposition Islamic groups signed a ceasefire agreement in an attempt to bring stability and security to the country. Continued violence in the aftermath of this deal, combined with the refusal of the Al Shabaab militia to sign the agreement, raises questions on whether this agreement will succeed. Recent violence has targeted humanitarian aid workers in Somalia, exacerbating a food crisis that has gripped the county in recent years.

• Somali Transitional Federal Government Army. The troops of the transitional government ofSomalia, launch counter-insurgent operations against various Somali insurgent groups. They have been indiscriminately targeting innocent civilians and looting property.

• Somali insurgents. A number of primarily clan-based insurgent groups have indiscriminately killed and committed atrocities against non-combatant civilians, while attacking the transitional government's military. This insurgency consists of three main groups:
  • Al-Shabaab: A well-trained militia that led the Islamic Courts to victory in 2006. According to experts, Al-Shabbab consists of 500 to 700 fighters, largely from the Hawiye and Ogaden clans.
  • Hawiye Clan Militias: These militias oppose the transitional government and the Ethiopian military. Hawyie soldiers comprise the largest group within the insurgency.
  • Anti-Ethiopian Nationalists: These are groups and individuals who oppose Ethiopian involvement in Somali affairs.

• Ethiopian troops. Ethiopian troops stationed in Somalia have committed widespread mass atrocities against Somali civilians during their military operations in support of the Somali transitional government. Their use of rockets and other weapons have caused indiscriminate destruction harming the lives and property of innocent Somalis.

The Somali Transitional Federal Government's military, Ethiopian troops and Somali insurgents have all indiscriminately targeted innocent non-combatant civilians in their operations and have committed widespread mass atrocities in the following ways:

• Intentional killings and mutilations of civilians
• Indiscriminate or disproportionate summary executions
• Military deployment in highly populated areas
• Attacks on medical facilities
• Widespread forced displacement