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Gopher
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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 Posted: Mon May 29, 2006 8:11 am Post subject: More Chaos in "the Mog"... |
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MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Members of militias fighting for control of the Somali capital could face war crimes charges for attempting to prevent the wounded and civilians from receiving assistance during the conflict, a U.N. official warned Monday.
The battle between fundamentalist Islamic militias and rival secular combatants has forced about 1,500 to seek treatment at Mogadishu's two main hospitals since the beginning of this year, said Eric Laroche, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia.
In the past several days, hundreds have fled Mogadishu to avoid the fighting that has killed at least 83 people since Wednesday.
"Increasingly worrying reports from Mogadishu describe indiscriminate shelling of civilian populations and the city's medical facilities, with dozens dead in the last few days," the U.N. said in a statement. "Due to the intensity of the recent fighting, an increased number of civilian casualties have been unable to reach medical facilities."
He warned the warring factions "that any deliberate attempt to prevent wounded or civilians receiving assistance and protection during fighting in the city may constitute elements of future war crimes," according to the statement.
The official said he was shocked at the targeting of hospitals, describing the action as a blatant violations of the basic rules of international humanitarian law.
"The fighting does have the potential to spread into other areas of southern Somalia, leading to further aggravation of the humanitarian crisis at a time when stability is needed for the success of the humanitarian drought response in the region," he said. It is "ethically unacceptable for fighting to be occurring in Mogadishu at a time when southern Somalia is experiencing a humanitarian emergency."
Somalia has had no effective government since warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. They then turned on each other, carving this nation of an estimated 8 million people into rival fiefdoms.
Islamic leaders reject a transitional government because it is not based on Islam. Islamic fundamentalists portray themselves as an alternative force capable of bringing order to the country. They accuse a rival secular alliance -- known as the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism -- of working for the CIA, while the alliance accuses the self-appointed Islamic court leaders of having links to al-Qaeda. |
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/05/29/somalia.fighting.ap/index.html |
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bignate
Joined: 30 Apr 2003
Location: Hell's Ditch
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| Posted: Mon May 29, 2006 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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| It is amazing that Somalia has been able to exist the way it has with no government since 1991.... |
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Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 10:18 am Post subject: |
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It sounds like it's a done-deal for Mogadishu.
An update available in the Stratfor Daily Podcast for June 06.
https://www.stratfor.com/reports/podcasts.php
In a nutshell, Islamists have Mogadishu, rest of the country likely to follow, analysis gives no real options for the US except to keep funding the Warlods against the Islamists (i.e. continue funding the same warlords they tried to get rid of in the early 90s). |
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Gopher
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 5:58 pm Post subject: |
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The fate of Somalia stands at a crossroads, as Islamists who have taken control of the capital offer a new chance to move beyond the violence brought by competing warlords. But security analysts fear the country may become a safe harbor for al-Qaeda, duplicating the role of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan in the 1990s.
One thing that may keep that from happening: gossip, which some consider to be Somalia's national pastime. Melissa Block talks with Simon Robinson, Time magazine's South Africa bureau chief. |
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5458389
Last edited by Gopher on Mon Jun 12, 2006 4:41 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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