Some reporters and other media workers reported staying for days, sometimes weeks, in their offices because of general insecurity, specific threats, and fear of TFG forces. At other times they were unable able to reach their offices for fear of violence by all parties to the conflict. Journalists reported arbitrary detentions by TFG and Ethiopian forces, lasting from a couple of hours to 11 days.
Since the intensive fighting in March-April 2007, local human rights organizations active in Mogadishu have also been largely silenced. One local women’s organization was raided by TFG soldiers who asked, “Are you the ones giving us a bad name?”
Attacks on Civilian-Populated Neighborhoods
Shelling and mortar fire have destroyed buildings and other civilian infrastructure, resulted in deaths and injuries of civilians, and often emptied entire neighborhoods, as residents fled for safety. In early December 2007, five Mogadishu districts were reported “completely empty” by humanitarian organizations providing emergency assistance in IDP settlements in Somalia. All parties to the conflict are reported to have carried out attacks on civilian-populated areas, but TFG and Ethiopian artillery is generally capable of causing much heavier damage, while armed groups with less military support resort to small mortar fire and improvised explosive devises. At times TFG and Ethiopian strikes were reported to have targeted civilian-populated areas after armed group attacks had been launched from specific locations within those areas. A number of refugees told Amnesty International that they had left their homes (to collect water, food or other necessities) and when they returned their houses were simply gone, destroyed by rocket propelled grenades or mortar fire.
Under international humanitarian law, civilians are unlawful targets for attack, unless they take a direct part in the hostilities. Amnesty International is not in a position to determine whether each of the intended targets in the incidents reported meet these criteria, but care was clearly not taken to avoid civilian casualties in most if not all of these cases.
Attacks on civilians on the road
Displaced civilians from southern and central Somalia frequently reported being attacked on the road from Mogadishu to several destinations to the north and the southwest as they sought safety. Unidentified robbers stole money, food and other possessions. IDPs were attacked or forced to pay fees at multiple check points and road blocks. One of the most dangerous areas reported was between Jowhar and Beletweyne on the route to Somaliland.
The number of reported attacks on displaced Somalis on the road fleeing Mogadishu rose in late 2007, as did the level of brutality exhibited by perpetrators, most notably in cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as shootings, beatings and “disappearance.” AI received reports of violations against IDPs on the road in Somalia committed by Ethiopian and TFG troops, anti-government armed groups, clan gangs, and common bandits. At times perpetrators would cover their faces to mask their identity, but often survivors believed they
could still identify them by language or appearance. While in September 2007, some drivers were able to travel though certain areas by virtue of their clan affiliation, this changed in late 2007 when clan affiliation no longer offered any assurance of favoritism in an attack. IDPs were increasingly targeted even in cases where they shared clan affiliations with their attackers.
Conditions for Somali Refugees
Despite the government of Kenya’s closure of its border with Somalia since January 2007, a significant number of Somali refugees have managed to find refuge in Kenya. Kenya’s border closure has served particularly to keep the most vulnerable from reaching safety. Individual Somali men can now reach Kenya much more easily than women and children, so families are being separated, with women and children stranded in overcrowded IDP settlements in southern and central Somalia. While some Somali refugees in Nairobi have been receiving basic
assistance from local NGOs, others are completely dependent on the good will of clans and neighbors for food and shelter.
In Hargeisa, there are approximately six major displacement settlements. While the government of Somaliland does not officially accept displaced persons from southern Somalia, it has allowed thousands or more to find refuge on its territory, particularly in Hargeisa.
The UN reports there are now over one million IDPs in southern and central Somalia. Yet, as one source told us, “Everyone is in denial—denial of the scope of the problem. We say there are 600,000 newly displaced from Mogadishu and we’re accused of distorting reality. The mention of [numbers] starts everyone shouting.”
Risks were grave for humanitarian organizations in Somalia in 2007. Every day humanitarian workers face checkpoints, extortion, car jacking, a lack of acceptance of the impartial nature of assistance, and lack of authority and command structure among local security officials. The provision of humanitarian assistance is made difficult by unacceptable bureaucratic impediments, restricted access, restricted movement and overall insecurity, but also by the contempt for humanitarian operations indicated in recent speeches by TFG authorities. In October TFG security arbitrarily detained the director of the World Food Program for nearly a
week. Staff from CARE (in May), Medecins Sans Frontieres (in December) and a French reporter (in December) were abducted, and later released, in Puntland. MSF staff were also abducted in Puntland, and several were killed in Kismayo early this year. The situation has been so dire that humanitarian organizations made a rare public statement in October 2007, calling for urgent support for increased humanitarian space. Forty international aid organizations wrote: “There is an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in South Central Somalia… International and national NGOs cannot respond effectively to the crisis because access and security are deteriorating dramatically at a time when needs are increasing. The international community and all parties to the present conflict have a responsibility to protect civilians, to allow the delivery of aid and to respect humanitarian space and the safety of humanitarian workers.”