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Abdul Hassan the leader of a group of 350 Somali pirates,whose takings this year alone was
350,000 dollar. Last year,
his group gained in excess of 10 million dollars.
UN soldiers accused of atrocities in Somalia: Human rights group urges adherence to Geneva Conventions
Friday, 30 July 1993
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THE United Nations force in Somalia (Unosom) is accused of atrocities including killing of unarmed people, the bombing of a hospital, beating civilians and theft, according to a report published in London today.*
Africa Rights, a newly formed human rights body, accuses the United States-led operation of 'grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions' and acting with 'near-total impunity'. Complaints procedures against the UN are woefully inadequate, the report says. It calls on the UN to reverse the policy of militarisation of the aid operation and for strict adherence to the Geneva Conventions.
Its most serious complaints concern the helicopter gunship attacks on buildings on 17 June and 12 July, but it also accuses the UN of the killing of unarmed civilians, the forced relocation of Mogadishu residents and the demolition of their homes. 'These are not cases of undisciplined actions by individual soldiers, but stem from the highest echelons of the command structure,' the report says.
The report will reopen the dispute between the American command in Mogadishu and the Italians and other forces that broke out two weeks ago over repeated American helicopter gunship raids aimed at killing General Mohamed Farah Aideed, the leader of the largest Somali faction. The Italians complained that the attempt to kill Gen Aideed was counterproductive, and demanded a return to the humanitarian aims of the operation.
The report concedes that the UN troops are in a difficult and dangerous position and accepts that Gen Aideed's forces have committed many gross violations of human rights, but says this does not excuse UN atrocities in reply. It adds that in Bardera the UN force has been 'consistently respectful of human rights'. It says that the welcome given by Somalis to US forces last December turned to disappointment, then bitterness and finally anger. 'Unfortunately the bloodiest confrontations are yet to come,' it predicts.
Describing the attack on Digfer Hospital by US, French and Moroccan forces - at least nine patients died - Africa Rights says: 'There is a prima-facie case that the UN command in Mogadishu committed a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions . . . The case warrants detailed and independent investigation to determine whether a war crime has been committed, and if so by whom, and with what level of culpability.
Just a year ago more attacks by U.S. forces on Somalia have occurred, many not reported in the press.
The piracy can be better understood in the light of foreign incursions into their territory.
America has launched a missile attack on southern Somalia against a suspected terrorist with links to al-Qa'eda. Three Tomahawk missiles fired from a submarine hit the town of Dobley, five miles from Somalia's border with Kenya, destroying a house and injuring at least six people. A Pentagon official said it was a "deliberate and precise strike" aimed at a specific target - believed to have been Hassan Turki, the head of the hardline Shebab youth organisation - at a meeting of militant Islamists. "This attack was against a known al-Qa'eda terrorist," said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman. "As we have repeatedly said, we will continue to pursue terrorist activities and their operations wherever we may find them." It was unclear last night if the attack had achieved its objective. It was the fourth air strike by US forces in Somalia in 14 months, all targeted at hardliners who Washington believed were linked to al-Qa'eda. None of the earlier attacks succeeded in killing the targets, the US has admitted.
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