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Somali Battles Bring Charges of War Crimes
NAIROBI, Kenya, April 5 — European diplomats said Thursday that they were investigating whether Ethiopian and Somali government forces committed war crimes last week during heavy fighting in Somalia’s capital that killed more than 300 civilians.
The fighting, some of the bloodiest in Somalia in the past 15 years, pitted Ethiopian and Somali forces against bands of insurgents. It reduced blocks of buildings in Mogadishu, the capital, to smoldering rubble. Many residents have complained to human rights groups, saying the government used excessive force and indiscriminately shelled their neighborhoods.
Eric van der Linden, the chief of the European Commission’s delegation to Kenya, said he had appointed a team to look into several war crime allegations stemming from the civilian casualties. “These are hefty accusations,” Mr. van der Linden said. “We are examining them very prudently.”
In an e-mail message to Mr. van der Linden marked urgent, a security adviser to the commission wrote that there were “strong grounds” to believe that Ethiopian and Somali troops had intentionally attacked civilian areas and that Ugandan peacekeepers, who arrived in the country last month, were complicit for standing by. The message was provided by someone who thought that the issue should become public; its authenticity was confirmed by commission officials.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/06/world/africa/06somalia.html?hp
Eric van der Linden, the chief of the European Commission’s delegation to Kenya, said he had appointed a team to look into several war crime allegations stemming from the civilian casualties. “These are hefty accusations,” Mr. van der Linden said. “We are examining them very prudently.”
In an e-mail message to Mr. van der Linden marked urgent, a security adviser to the commission wrote that there were “strong grounds” to believe that Ethiopian and Somali troops had intentionally attacked civilian areas and that Ugandan peacekeepers, who arrived in the country last month, were complicit for standing by. The message was provided by someone who thought that the issue should become public; its authenticity was confirmed by commission officials.
More
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/06/world/africa/06somalia.html?hp
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Hundreds are believed to have been killed and wounded in the fighting, which pitted forces of the interim government, backed by Ethiopian troops, against supporters of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and members of the Hawiye. The latter is the main clan in the capital.
The UIC controlled large parts of southern Somalia until December 2006, when it was ousted by the Ethiopian forces, reportedly with support from the United States -- which accuses the union of having links with al Qaeda. This came after months of tension between the Islamic grouping and the transitional federal government, which had been unable to extend its influence beyond the southern town of Baidoa.
On Wednesday, government officials attempted to put a brave face on developments in their country while briefing reporters in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
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http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37244
The warning, by a senior security official, came in an urgent e-mail to Eric van der Linden, the EU ambassador based in Nairobi.
"I need to advise you that there are strong grounds to believe that the Ethiopian government and the transitional federal government of Somalia and the African Union (peacekeeping) Force Commander, possibly also including the African Union Head of Mission and other African Union officials have through commission or omission violated the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court," the e-mail said.
EU officials, speaking on condition they not be named because a legal matter was involved, confirmed the e-mail's authenticity.
The author, whose name was blanked out on the copy obtained by the AP but whose senior position was apparent from the text, went on to detail the exact statutes that were violated. They included intentionally directing attacks against civilians and ordering the displacement of civilians for reasons related to the conflict.
More
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/04/06/ap3589727.html
Mogadishu resistance group and the Ethiopian army are facing off in a final round of clashes as the Ethiopians brought in their latest weapon, American supplied tanks.
Meanwhile in Eritrea, the head of the Islamic courts and the former parliament speaker met to discuss the current affairs of the country. Also joined the ranks of the anti "government" and anti Ethiopian coalition, the former puppet deputy prime minister Hussien Aideed also attended the meeting in Asmara the capital of Eritrea. Aideed who is known to be opportunist was sacked earlier in the year after he called for abolishment of the border between Ethiopia and Somalia . He was reported to be angry and distressed about the recent fighting in Mogadishu that killed hundreds of civilians.
KC
http://www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2007/04/06/7953.shtml
The official warned that donor countries could be considered complicit in any possible crimes if they do nothing to stop them.
The warning was made in an urgent memo to Eric van der Linden, the EU ambassador based in Nairobi, Kenya.
The author, whose name was blanked out on the copy obtained by The Associated Press, went on to detail the exact statutes that they believed may have been violated.
Potential complicity
The official's email said: "I need to advise you that there are strong grounds to believe that the Ethiopian government and the transitional federal government of Somalia and the African Union (peacekeeping) Force Commander, possibly also including the African Union Head of Mission and other African Union officials have through commission or omission violated the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
"In regard to the above mentioned potential violations of international law there arise urgent questions of responsibility and potential complicity in the commission of war crimes by the European Commission and its partners."
Solomon Abebe, spokesman for the Ethiopian ministry of foreign affairs, called the allegations a "fabrication".
Abebe said: "The international community, everybody knows that this is false."
EU officials were not immediately available for comment because Friday was a public holiday in Kenya. Somali officials were unreachable.
European diplomats said they were concerned about the information.
Jens Orlander, the Swedish special envoy for Somalia based in Nairobi, said: "We are looking at this from a legal point of view at the ministry of foreign affairs in Stockholm."
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/11C6C94D-191A-4FBC-BBED-78579471310B.htm