By Andrew Cawthorne
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Amnesty International accused Ethiopian Woyanne soldiers on Wednesday of killing 21 people, including an imam and several Islamic scholars, at a Mogadishu mosque and said seven of the victims had their throats slit.
The rights group said the soldiers had also captured dozens of children during the raid on the Al Hidaaya mosque in the north of the Somali capital earlier this week during operations against Islamist insurgents.
Ethiopia Woyanne has thousands of soldiers in neighbouring Somalia to bolster a Western-backed government against rebels fighting an Iraq-style insurgency in the Horn of Africa nation.
The Ethiopian Woyanne and Somali governments have not responded publicly to accusations of atrocities at the mosque. But they have frequently denied abusing human rights in the fight against groups they call al Qaeda-backed terrorists.
Amnesty said those killed at the mosque included imam Sheikh Saiid Yaha and several scholars of the moderate Tabligh group that operated there.
“Eye-witnesses report that those killed inside the mosque were unarmed civilians taking no active part in hostilities,” Amnesty said. “Seven of the 21 were reported to have died after their throats were cut — a form of extra-judicial execution practiced by Ethiopian forces in Somalia.”
Some moderate Islamist leaders have reacted to the mosque incident, and a recent upsurge of fighting in Mogadishu, by postponing plans to join U.N.-sponsored peace talks.
More than 100 people have been killed since the weekend in clashes in the coastal capital, and the takeover of several small towns by the Islamists’ militant al Shabaab wing.
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Amnesty urged the Ethiopian Woyanne military to release all 41 children it said were held after the mosque raid.
“Witnesses have told Amnesty International that Ethiopian Woyanne forces would only release the children from their military base in north Mogadishu ‘once they had been investigated’ and ‘if they were not terrorists’,” it said.
Some of the children — whose ages were as low as nine — were reported to have been freed, though the majority were still in custody, Amnesty’s statement added.
Various witnesses told Reuters they had seen beheaded bodies lying outside the mosque after the fighting.
Another four corpses showed up in Mogadishu on Thursday, at the compound of the SOS children’s hospital that had also been occupied by Ethiopian Woyanne troops during clashes at the weekend.
“The Ethiopian Woyanne troops who occupied SOS hospital since the weekend left last night taking the hospital’s food and cooking oil with them and they also damaged the properties of the hospital,” SOS security officer Abey Saney Osman told Reuters.
“There are four dead bodies, one inside and three others outside the gate of the compound. We are now inside the hospital and trying to sort all the mess,” he said by phone.
An SOS employee, laboratory technician Mohammed Faagte, told Reuters a colleague died and four others were wounded while trying to flee the hospital when the fighting began.
Civilians have borne the burnt of Somalia’s near-incessant violence since the 1991 toppling of a dictator.
About one million of the nation’s 9 million population live as refugees in their own land.
(Additional reporting by Abdi Sheikh and Aweys Yusuf in Mogadishu)
16 thoughts on “Woyanne troops slit throats in Somali mosque (Reuters)”
OMG, what an animal are they ? I would like to apologize this animalism to the Somalia people on behalf of All Ethiopians. Meless and his Co don’t represent the Ethiopians people, our hearts are with you. I hope this revelation would re-unit all Somalia, from all tripes to fight and liberate their people.
I cann’t believe we let woyane put dark era on our live sad sad sad. Gangster(shiftas) should never allowed to rule our country. soon or later they will pay for thier crimes.
MR ANDREW CAWTHRONE, WOULD YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH PLEASE? Ethiopia doesn’t have any single military in somalia. it is your leader’s servant [ TPLF] is killing innocent somalians in their own villages . ONLY USA AND IT’S SERVANT TPLF WILL TAKE THE RESPO0NSIBILITY , NOT THE PEACELOVING AND AN INNOCENT ETHIOPIA’S PEOPLE. 95% OF ETHIOPIA’S PEOPLE ARE STILL AGAINST THE PROXY WAR IN SOMALIA TO PROTECT USA’S NATIONAL INTERST , BUT TPLF CAN NOT WILL NOT PROTECT USA’S INTERST IN SOMALIA. USA HAS WELL BASED EXPERINCE ABOUT SOMALIANS. IT IS THE SHAMEST SIDE OF USA TO GIVE A GREEN LIGHT AND COOPERATE WITH TPLF TO DIS STABLIZE SOMALIA WHICH DOESN’T HAVE ANY PROPOER GOVERNMENT FOR THE LAST 17 YEARS. VICTORY TO THE SOMALIA’S PEOPLE.
This despicable act of barbarism is the best example of how Woyanne is being used to wreck havoc in our region on behalf of the US. Any Woyanne supporter who is trying to hide their head in the sand will have to wake up and support the genuine cause of the Somali people to free themselves from colonialism. Woyanne can’t survive on their own in Ethiopia let alone igniting wars all over our region without the support and encouragement of the US administration, just like Eritreans heroically stood with their government to fight this evil scheme, it is high time that all Ethiopians including those of Tigray origin should come out en mass and fight Woyanne now. Anyone who will fool themselves into believing that Woyanne will go away on their own is day dreaming, it is time to go out and support those brave Ethiopians and Somalis who are paying their dear life everyday. Time for talk is over, it is time for action and face any danger for the sake of the people of the Horn of Africa.
Elisa kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk you make me laught and laught LooooooooooooooooooL this is war homie LoooL do you think were going to kiss them? while they are killing our trops? aaaaaaa of course not! and for your information Ethiopia Troops ARE NOT IN SOMAILA. LoooL I thought you know that? its the somalia who are killing each other…so don’t blame T.P.L.F. for Everything..
I am horrified and Embarrassed these barbaric act committed by human on human. What is the world come into? All this atrocity for power? Is it worth it? Can these people do sleep at night as war hero after slothering fellow humans?. This is scary knowing those animals are actually are from Ethiopia. God help us
ይህንን የምጽፈው ለአቶ ኤልያስ ክፍሌ ነዉ::
ከዚህ በፊት በዚህ ዌብ ሳይት ላይ ስለ ኢትዮጵያ ወታደሮች የምታቀርበዉን ዜናዎች በማንበብ :አንተን
የሀገሪቱ ጠላት አድርጌ ቆጥሬህ ነበር:: ሰሞኑን ስለሱማሌ ሁኔታ በጥልቅ ከተከታትልኩ በኋላ ያለኝ አስተሳሰብ ሁሉ ተቀይሯል:: ስለዚህም ዝቅ ብዮ ይቅርታ እጠይቃለሁ:: ይህንንም ኢሰብ አዊ ወንጀል
የፈጸሙ ሁሉ በአለም አቀፍ ህግ መጠየቅ አለባቸዉ
ከነመሪዎቻቸዉ ጭምር:ማለት ነዉ::ስራህን ቀጥል
ወንጀሎችን አጋልጥ በርታ እላለሁ;;;
አመሰግናለሁ
The Somali people have every right to defend their land, property and family from the Woyanie slaves who are repeating the massacres of Gambiella and Ogadien, this time on behalf of their masters – Bush and D!ck admin.
My heart felt pain and sorrow to the Somali victims. At the end of the day, the Somalis will chase out the Bush slaves from their land.
Somalia is a clear proof that it is not going to be Woyannies two week play ground picnic.
Ohhh that is inhuman,being very cruel,and barbaric.
CUTING THROATS—–SLAUGHTERING—HUMANBEINGS
VERY much D I S G U S T I N
Wow! everytime that I read about the weyane’s crime in Somalia it makes me wonder as to what else are they doing to the poor Ethiopian people. My fellow brothers and sisters the weyanes have formulated 3 things, 1- those who wear the donated suits and ties to be more democratic than the average person in the universe, 2- those who wear the other donated suits and ties to be more business minded for the development but plain looting, and 3- those in the military who takes orders from the first 2 are just to kill and kill who ever they think is a threat to their survival. I’m not sure how many Ethiopians have realized the systematic and backward of weyane rulers are but in a long run I’m afraid the consequences is extremely unhealthy!
This slit throats is totally the work of TPLF/Agazzi forces not Ethiopian Army.Ethiopian army is used for back only.TPLF is been paid by U.S gov.to go into Somali and do dirty work for them b/c U.S doesn’t want any part of warlords that is going in Somali.Top TPLF criminals have been paid by U.S gov in millions to slit throats and kill and tortured people in Somali.Agazzi forces must be stoped.
Matti<<<my friend nothing today TPLF/Agazzi is doing to poor people of Somali is new to me.The slit throating,cut armies,legs,and tortured has been done to the people in Oromia,Gamblela,Ogaden and today in Somali mosque and everywhere in it.Ethiopian Army is not doing the slit throats but Agazzi focres are doing it ..ethio army is used for back up.Untill all of us take stand and take actions and stop this Agazzi madness..this will go on and on.
This simply is breathtaking! This time the AGAZI goons have surpassed even themselves. As if it wasn’t bad enough to barge into a holly mosque with a gun and on boots; the AGAZIS are beading human beings as if they were dealing with sheep and in a mosque. Ethiopians have coexisted with their Muslim brothers and sisters for centuries with mutual respect and understanding and will continue to do so, despite TPLF’s effort divide them.
I am hoping the Somalis know that Ethiopians have nothing to do with these atrocities and they are being committed by an ethnic militia (AGAZI) that Ethiopians themselves consider as an enemy force. These brutal ethnic militias, the AGAZI, are recruited, trained and paid by Meles and his crime syndicate, the TPLF (Tigrai’s People Liberation Front). It might be helpful to remember that Meles, in the mid 70s and 80’s, was a protégé of the former Somali dictator, Ziad Barre. He used to live in down town Mogadishu and his nefarious activities were financed by the Somali tax payers. He was made an honorary Somali citizen and issued a passport with diplomatic credentials so that he could wander the globe freely. Now Meles is back in Mogadishu, cutting the throats of the same people that housed and fed him 30 over 30 years ago and that is the TPLF gratitude for you. This is like the chicken coming home to roost.
to surafel
melez knows what he did to somali people so its hes way to say thankas….
Like he was not received with open hands and loving heart, like he didn’t buy rice and fish in the market, like he didn’t sit among them and chewed Kat and drank tea,like he wasn’t schooled their language and lived in a villa, they knew him as Legesse Zinawi.
Now, he changed his name to Meles Zinawi and sent them woyanaeagazitplf to bite their finger. Is it fair?
The army is a blunt sword not a fine scaple. Brutal as it may be, somalia isn’t exactly a walk in the park and the Ethiopian army or goverment with the best of intention is at least trying something. I think the international community is to blame. Letting a third world country with limited resources and oversight take the lead in this fight. What did you expect?