Somalia
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Somalia: Human rights group condemns assaults on Kismayo civilians
26 Jun 26, 2007 - 1:13:48 PM
KISMAYO, Somalia June 26 (Garowe Online) - The chairman of a Somali human rights group has condemned clan militiamen who have committed crimes against unarmed civilians in the southern port of Kismayo.
In an interview with the BBC Somali Service, Ali Bashi, head of Fanoole Human Rights Organization, said select Kismayo residents and neighborhoods have been subject to armed robbery and violent assault on civilians maimed for their clan identity.
Bashi said his organization has registered vehicles and other valued property from people whose homes were ransacked by the clan militias in control of Kismayo.
He appealed to elders from the Marehan clan to take their militias out of the city and to return looted property to its rightful owners.
Fanoole Chairman Ali Bashi also appealed to the Somali transitional government to intervene immediately in the clan-based conflict in Kismayo and to send "neutral troops" to the region.
Somali government troops divided along clan lines clashed among themselves in late April and again last Friday, when the Marehan clan soldiers attacked opposition soldiers in the outskirts of Kismayo. [ Full story]
Numerous Kismayo residents confirmed to Garowe Online of the ongoing crimes being committed by Marehan clan militias, who have robbed, raped women and killed at will since returning to Kismayo victorious after Friday's battles.
The clan soldiers and allied militias have specifically targeted Kismayo neighborhoods historically inhabited by Harti clansmen. Fearful residents said they are being punished because Harti fighters battled the Marehan force for dominance in Kismayo over the past two months.
Somalia's transitional government has largely played an observer role in the Kismayo conflict. Analysts fear the Kismayo uprising, where clan militias successfully dislodged a regional administration appointed from Mogadishu, will become an example for other clan militias to take up arms across Somalia.
A prime example is Lower Shabelle region, just south of Mogadishu. Militiamen fought the government-appointed governor until he withdrew from the entire region. [ Full story]
Several Lower Shabelle districts, including the port of Barawe, remain in the hands of clan militia warlords despite the presence of the UN-endorsed federal government in Somalia.
