Somalia: AU Forces bring more death and destruction

[Wisdom_Seeker]

March 10, 2007 —

 

On 9 March 2007, Somali men and women demonstrated outside the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, DC as part of a worldwide effort to bring international attention to the grave and deteriorating situation in Somalia. They carried banners and placards in protest of the US-backed Ethiopian war of aggression, invasion and occupation of Somalia. They chanted “No to Ethiopian Intervention in Somalia”, “Stop Dictator Zenawi”, “Stop the Ethiopian Aggression”, “No more Destruction”, “End Ethiopian Occupation”, “Stop Supporting Dictators”, and more. They reflected the Somali people’s outrage and anger with Ethiopia’s flagrant violation of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and the violence and mayhem that ensued.

 

The presence of Ethiopian forces in Somalia was and remains the casus belli for the conflict in Somalia. Unfortunately the Islam phobic US State Department of Shame continues to deny the people of Somalia their right to self determination and is now attempting to legitimize and consolidate the invasion and occupation of Somalia by shoving the ill-advised “African Union Stabilization Force” into Somalia to “prop up” the puppet TNG led by Abdulahi Yusuf and Ali Mohammed Ghedi. Despite the US State Department of Shame’s misinformation and deceptive pronouncements about the situation in Somalia, recent headlines paint a gloomy prospect for peace, security and stability in Somalia.

 

Today, the US and the UN are pressing ahead with their misguided, ill-advised legitimization and consolidation of Somalia’s occupation. The arrival of about 1500 Ugandan soldiers is the first batch in the ill advised 4000 strong African Union force destined for Somalia. The “stabilization force” is supposed to “prop up” the illegitimate puppet TNG installed in Mogadishu by US-backed Ethiopian forces in December 2006, but is already coming under attack. The US and Ethiopian desires to “prop up” the illegitimate puppet TNG cannot trump the Somali people’s rights to self determination. Undoubtedly, this mission will bring more suffering and chaos to Somalia.

 

For the Somali people, the incoming peacekeepers are a real threat. They have been victims of so called “peacekeepers” in the not so distant past and are suspicious of their motives, and rightfully so. The rape and abuse by Ethiopian forces in Somalia has been deliberately downplayed by Washington, but facts are stubborn and they will not be permanently suppressed.

 

Syndicated columnist Joseph Farah has documented some of the crimes committed by “peacekeepers” in Somalia in the past; here are some of the worst:

 

· “…A Belgian soldier was accused of forcing a young Somali to eat pork, drink salt water and then eat his own vomit…”

 

· “…Another sergeant is suspected of having murdered a Somali whom he was photographed urinating upon…”

 

· “…A child, accused of stealing food from the paratroopers’ base, died after being locked in a storage container for 48 hours. Fifteen other members of the same regiment were investigated in 1995 for "acts of sadism and torture" against Somali civilians…”

 

· “…In 1995, a group of Canadian paratroopers were investigated for torturing a Somali to death and killing three others…”

 

· “…In June 1995 gruesome photos were published in a Milan magazine of Italian soldiers torturing a Somali youth and abusing and raping a Somali girl. Paratroopers claim they were specifically trained in methods of torture to aid interrogation. According to one witness, Italian soldiers tied a young Somali girl to the front of an armored personnel carrier and raped her while officers looked on…”

 

· “…The South China Morning Post published an AFP report about an Italian battalion commander who sexually abused and strangled a 13-year-old Somali boy. There are also allegations that, in 1993, Italian soldiers beat seven suspected Somali thieves, killing one; that they beat to death a 14-year-old boy who sold a false medal and beat a couple in a car…the Italian paratrooper was quoted as saying: "What’s the big deal? They are just niggers anyway…”

 

· “…In 1997, the London Telegraph, in a combined dispatch with AFP, reported that Belgian troops roasted a Somali boy. Roasted him! And what was the sentence for this peace crime committed during an operation dubbed ironically "Restore Hope"? A military court sentenced two paratroopers to a month in jail and a fine of 200 pounds…”

 

UN peacekeepers have also committed atrocities in other war torn African nations. Here are but a few of their many crimes:

 

http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article20698

 

:mad:

[AYOUB]

If this is Ugandans' masterplan, i'm not convinced they know what they're getting themselves tangled with...

 

 

The commander of the land forces, Lt. Ge. Katumba Wamala, watches his troops board a plane at Entebbe heading to Somalia yesterday

By Emmy Allio

and agencies

 

 

Ugandan soldiers had their first encounter with Somali insurgents on Wednesday evening only a day after arriving in the capital Mogadishu as part of an AU peacekeeping mission.

 

Two Ugandan soldiers were injured when four Infantry Fighting Vehicles were ambushed by gunmen at 6:40pm, according to a statement by the defence ministry. The vehicles were moving from their base to the hotel where the force commander, Maj. Gen. Levy Karuhanga, and members of the Somali transitional government were to spend the night.

 

“We suffered two minor injuries. We fired in the air to scare them away and that is how we managed to drive through,” said spokesperson, Capt. Paddy Ankunda. “The AU mission is going to investigate the incident. We will not take a hurried decision. Our position is that we are not going to impose our will on the Somali people.”

 

There have been almost daily mortar attacks since the Union of Islamic Courts were ousted by a combined Somali-Ethiopian force last December, making parts of the city inaccessible for the transitional government.

 

The Ugandan Ministry of Defence attributes the attacks to three major groups: remnants of the Union of Islamic Courts, militiamen of warlords who still oppose the government, and freelance militias who operate like mercenaries.

 

“The objective of these three elements is to perpetuate the chaos, which made the warlords governments unto themselves.

 

During this confusion, individuals became wealthier by running the airport, the sea ports and factories. These people are opposed to any centralised governance,” said the statement.

 

However, it emphasises that 90% of the Somali population is tired of anarchy and just wants peace. “That is why the people of Mogadishu, including the clan leaders, some warlords and the mayor, turned up at the airport in big numbers to receive the Ugandan contingent.”

 

Another batch of 410 UPDF soldiers flew out of Kampala in two Algerian airforce planes yesterday morning. The planes, seen off by the land forces commander Lt. Gen. Katumba Wamala, also took more Armoured Personnel Carriers and other trucks.

 

In an interview, the Chief of Defence Forces of the UPDF, Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, explained the finer details of the mission in Somalia, dubbed AMISOM. Their first duty, he said, is to protect the Somali government and allow it to dialogue with insurgents, warlords and warring clan leaders.

 

“We are there to encourage dialogue and the process of reconciliation. The protected government will then launch its roadmap and explain its policies to the population,” Aronda emphasised.

 

The mission’s second task is to protect government institutions. These include the cabinet, the parliament, the ministries of defence and foreign affairs as well as the sea and airports.

 

Finally, the peacekeepers are expected to train the Somali national army. “The recruited Somali soldiers will be handed to us and we shall train them in Uganda or Somalia,” Aronda added. Once trained and passed out, the Somali army will take over patrols and escort duties.

 

Aronda stressed that there will be no cordon-and-search operations by the Ugandan soldiers. “We encourage an all inclusive dialogue in Somalia, not further conflict.”

 

But while the Somali Government welcomes the peacekeepers, others continue to oppose them. In a taped message, which was broadcasted on the Mogadishu-based Koran Radio, an Islamist commander called upon the youth to fight the ‘non-believers.’

 

“It is time for the Somali youth to fight the occupation by Ethiopia and others,” said Aden Hashi Ayro, who described himself as the commander of the Islamic Courts Movement.

 

“The Muslims shall not surrender to ‘non-believers.’ We will fight in the name of Allah and our country. Let us bring together all our forces to fight the enemy of Somalia.”

 

Opposition also comes from the ******, the dominant clan in Mogadishu.

 

“The H***** clan has condemned the government for inviting the Ugandan peacekeepers, who were apparently misled into Somalia hoping to solve our problems,” said a statement obtained by AFP.

ment obtained by AFP.

 

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/553070

[Taliban]

Originally posted by mystic:

:mad:

If the more civilized and disciplined Western troops can do what you have listed, imagine what African troops can do.