Somalia: The Massacre of Somali Civilians in Merka, Hiiraan, and Galgaduud by AMISOM and Ethiopian Troops
CONCERNED SOMALI CITIZENS IN THE DIASPORA (Page 1 of 6)
Contact Info:
Abdulaziz Hagi Mohamed Hussein somrights@gmail.com
Sh. Hassan Jamici xasanjaamici@gmail.com
Mohamoud Gaildon mgaildon@gmail.com Date: August 14, 2015
TO: H. E. Ban Ki Moon United Nations Secretary General 760 United Nations Plaza New York, 10017, USA
Mr. Nicholas Kay Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia Nick Kay (@Somalia111) | Twitter Email: unsom-spokesperson@un.org
Eloi Yao and Lt Col Paul Njuguna, AMISOM Spokespersons African Union Mission for Somalia (AMISOM), P.O. Box 20182-00200, Nairobi, Kenya. Tel : (+254-20) 271 3755/56/58 Email : amisomhom(at)gmail.com
Ref: The Massacre of Somali Civilians in Merka, Hiiraan, and Galgaduud by AMISOM and Ethiopian Troops
On behalf of the Somali Diaspora, we, Concerned Somali Citizens, strongly condemn the most recent attacks and massacre of 31 civilians in Merka on July 21, 2015 and on August 1, 2015 by AMISOM troops (Ref. Hiiraan Online, August 2, 2015). We strongly condemn the attacks and killing of Somali civilians in Galgaduud in June, 2015 and the ongoing killing of Somali civilians in Hiiraan by AMISOM and by Ethiopian troops.
In the latest massacre of August 1, according to the account of an eye witness, who was able to call a local journalist from her cell phone, a column of heavily armed AMISOM trucks invaded the township of Ruusiya in Merka at 4:00 p.m. local time, on July 31, 2015. They drove straight to the center of the town and started firing their heavy machine guns in the air. The population ran in different directions looking for refuge. Then the troops came down from their trucks and attacked the house of the family of Maclin Iidey, a well respected teacher and elder in the community, who at the time was having a wedding ceremony with his family. Inside the house, the troops shot dead 6 people and wounded Maclin Iidey, whom they thought was dead. When the shooting stopped, and the sunset, in the dark, the neighbors went inside the house, saw the dead and tried to assist the only survivor and wounded Maclin Iidey by carrying him on a wheel borrow.
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The troops noticed the movement and the succor and started shooting again in the direction of the house. Some of those who came to assist were wounded and some managed to escape. The troops rushed to the house and finished the wounded man on the wheel borrow, Maclin Iidey.
Terrified, and with AMISOM troops still stationed in the center of the town, the native population broke into the surrounding bushes in the middle of the night. Only the very elderly, the sick, and very small children with their moms were left behind. At 11:00 a.m. local time, the next day, after begging the Somali soldiers in the company of the AMISOM troops, the neighbors were allowed to pull out the dead for burial. Attached is a photograph which shows a lineup of the dead bodies of what was supposed to be a wedding ceremony. The following link provides an eye witness account of the atrocities committed by AMISOM in Ruusiya township on August 1, 2015 (Ref. http://www.tabiyenews.com/dhageyso-haweeney-ehelkeedalagu-hor-dilay-oo-ilmeneysa/). At the end of this letter, you will find a list of the names of some of those civilians who were massacred in Merka.
With all the information that he has, in his twitter, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, Mr. Nicholas Kay, admitted that, in Merka, civilians were murdered and that those responsible must be held accountable. Following is what he wrote in his twitter:
“8/2/15, 10:04 AM – Shocked by recent killings of civilians in Merka. My condolences. Important to investigate fully & hold to account those responsible.”
We deplore the attempt and spin by AMISOM to characterize what happened in Ruusiya village as part of the operation against the insurgency. In its official communication to control the situation with calls for investigation, AMISOM never showed the damages that it incurred, even to its vehicles, on July 24 and on August 1, 2014 respectively. AMISOM does not have anything to show as to what was done to its troops, even after its troops killed a total of 31 Somali civilians in these two operations. Further, in the meeting of August 3, when the Somali elders requested the troops to leave the inside of the towns, AMISOM commanders denied the request, saying that they had to be there for strategic reasons. It is obvious that the purpose of these two operation was to terrorize the population by killing some of them and thus giving them a lesson that they will never forget. (http://amisom-au.org/2015/08/amisom-takes-note-of-allegationsagainst-its-troops-in-marka-and-remains-committed-to-addressing-these-charges/).
In the month of June, 2015, the Ethiopian Liyuu Police attacked the Somali population in Hiiraan and Galgaduud of Central Somalia, killing men, women, and children, and putting fire on their villages (Ref. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tGwsYydPIY&feature=youtu.be&t=14). To date, these marauding troops hold water holes which the rural Somali population desperately need to water their livestock. As we write this letter of condemnation, on August 8, 2015, Hiiraan Online reported that this past week, Ethiopian forces killed six civilians and wounded seven others in the town of Halgan in Hiiraan Region (http://www.hiiraan.com/news/2015/Aug/wararka_maanta8-92559.htm). We have no doubt in our mind that the purpose of these killings is to terrorize the Somali population and force them to accept Ethiopian rule. Gentlemen, the victims of Ethiopian, Kenyan, and AMISOM killings demand justice.
In Mogadishu and in other centers, such as Afgoi, Merka, Baidoa, Kisimayo, the humiliation to which AMISOM troops hold the Somali population is unbearable. It is called “xaniinyo taabasho” which means the “touching of the testicles”, an attempt to break the pride and will of the Somali men. MPs, men and
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women, who visit Villa Somalia for official business, are subject to this humiliation. Even children in the company of their fathers and mothers do not escape this shame. In the eyes of AMISOM troops, every Somali is a suspect. Because of our long and painful colonial history, we know that genocide begins with such acts of harassment and the justification of humiliation. Please see attached photos.
In its UPR Submission of 2015, Human Rights Watch reported the following:
“Some soldiers from Uganda and Burundi deployed as part of AMISOM sexually exploited and assaulted women and girls on their bases in Mogadishu. In some cases women and girls were offered humanitarian assistance, medicine and food in exchange for sex. Few women filed complaints due to the fear of reprisals and the absence of effective and safe complaints mechanisms.”
We refer to Human Rights Watch Report on the Power These Men Have Over Us in https://www.hrw.org/fr/node/256583. AMISOM has yet to published the internal investigation that it has promised to produce two years ago.
In our view, the occupation of Somalia by AMISOM and by the neighboring countries of Ethiopia and Kenya, and the placing of the country under Chapter 7 of the United Nations, the breaking up of the country into clan based city states, was never conducted in agreement with the wishes and welfare of the Somali people and as such it is a violation of their rights to determine their own future. The silence of the government in Mogadishu over the massacres of Somali civilians reflects the bitter truth that it has no authority to voice and protect the interests of the Somali people. This is a very serious matter to the extent that it questions the sovereignty of the country.
1. We demand that those responsible for the massacre in Merka be brought to justice immediately.
2. We demand an end to Ethiopian and Kenyan attacks on the Somali population in Hiiraan, Galgaduud, Bay, Lower Shabelle, and Giuba. These two countries cannot use their membership in AMISOM, a decision to which the Somali people were never a party, to attack and kill Somalis.
3. We demand an end to AMISOM humiliation of the Somali people.
4. To avoid further complication of this matter, we request that you seriously consider replacing the countries whose troops were involved in the killing of Somali civilians.
5. That a representative Somali National Army be established as fast as possible as an alternative to the use of foreign troops and in accordance with SC Resolution Resolution 2232 (2015).
6. We reserve the right to take the killing and rape of the civilians in Merka, Hiiraan,and Galgadud and anywhere else in Somalia by AMISOM troops to court.
Please note that we write to you because you are the de facto rulers of Somalia, and as such, we do not want someone, somewhere, using jurisdiction issues to avoid responding to these massacres.
Names of civilians who were massacred in Merka:
1. Mucalim Iidey Gacameey, aged 70 yeaars.
2. Xuseen Mucalim Iidey
3. Sayid Cali Mucalim Iidey
4. Yuusuf Biikole Mucalim Iidey
5. Cumar Mucalim Iidey
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6. Aweys Xamarow
7. Salaad Kawaanle
8. Maslax Dalaal
Sincerely,
1. Abdulaziz Hagi Mohamed Hussein, MN (USA)
2. Sabraa Halane, MN (USA)
3. Ali Ghedi, Toronta (Canada)
4. Ismail Osman, OH (USA)
5. Imam Hassan Jaamici, MN (USA)
6. Ahmed Hamud, Toronto (Canada)
7. A.Isse, MN (USA)
8. Abdurahman Moallim Ahmed, Ontario, (Canada)
9. Ahmed M. Nuur. VA (USA)
10. Mahad Sheikh, Toronto (Canada)
11. Abdurahman Abdulle Siad
12. Mukhtar Abukar, Toronto (Canada)
13. Mohamed Ali Hassan,
14. Abshir Hassan Abdulle, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)
15. Mohamed Nur Ahmed, VA (USA)
16. Mohamed Barre – Junlay, MN (USA)
17. Ahmed Siad (Australia)
18. Ikar Mohamed Ikar, MN (USA)
19. Abdirashid Gayre, MI (USA)
20. Mohamoud Gaildon, WI (USA)
21. Muuse Sheekh Ahmed Mohamed, Mogadishu (Somalia)
22. Daud Osman, MN (USA)
23, Mohamed A. Keynan, London (UK)
24. Mohamed Haji Ingiriis, Oxford (UK)
25. Mohamud Ulusso, Mogadishu (Somalia)
26. Kassim Busuri, MN (USA)
27. Asha Ahmed Hassan, MN (USA)
28. Mohamed Muse, MN, USA
29. Fathiya Hassan Mohamed, MN, USA
30. Asha Hassan Mohamed, MN, USA
31. Hussein Warsame, VA (USA)
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C.c. Media Accreditation & Liaison Unit United Nations Headquarters L-248 New York, NY 10017 Email: malu@un.org
Ms. Cassandra Nelson/Director/United Nations Strategic Communications and Public Affairs Group Email: nelson8@un.org
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Palais Wilson 52 rue des Pâquis CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland. Telephone: +41 22 917 9220 Email: InfoDesk@ohchr.org Amnesty International 1 Easton Street London, WC1X 0DW, UK Telephone: +44-20-74135500 Fax number: +44-20-79561157 Email: amnestyis@amnesty.org
Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1-212-216-1832 Fax: +1-212-736-1300 Email: hrwpress@hrw.org International Criminal Court Office of the Prosecutor Communications Post Office Box 19519 2500 CM The Hague The Netherlands. Email: informationdesk@icc-cpi.int
REDRESS 87 Vauxhall Walk London SE11 5HJ Email: info@redress.org CONCERNED SOMALI
CITIZENS IN THE DIASPORA (Page 6 of 6)
Center for Justice and Accountability One Hallidie Plaza, Suite 406 San Francisco, CA 94102 Email: center4justice@cja.org DOCIP
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Mahboub Maalim/Chairman Inter Governmental Authority on Development Avenue Georges Clemenceau P.O. Box 2653 Djibouti Republic of Djibouti Email: igad@igad.org
