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US arms to Somalia could be used in abuses: Amnesty

Somali donors should stop arms supply: rights group
Nairobi (AFP) Jan 21, 2010 - International donors should end weapons and other military supplies to Somalia's embattled government as lack of safeguards risks worsening the violence and human suffering, Amnesty International said Thursday. The London-based rights group voiced concern that war-wracked Somalia's government was receiving weapons while "issues of vetting, accountability, arms management and respect for human rights by Somalia's police and armed forces remain largely unresolved," according to its report. "Without adequate safeguards, arms transfers may threaten the human rights and worsen the humanitarian situation of Somali civilians," said the report: "Somalia: International Military and Policing Should be Reviewed." The watchdog said until safeguards are in place "the international community should end all supplies of weapons, military and security equipment and financial assistance" to the transitional federal government.

It also called for the proper enforcement of a 1992 arms embargo on the Horn of Africa state. Despite international backing, the Somali government has largely remained ineffective in the face of relentless attacks by Islamist rebels who have pared its control of the capital Mogadishu to just a few streets. It also has no control of large swathes of the country, much of which is in the hands of the radical Islamist Shebab fighters, who together with the more political Hezb al-Islam militants have vowed to topple it. Alliance-shifting fighters also pose the risk of arms ending up in the hands of the extremists, exacerbating Somalia's conflict which erupted in 1991 with the ouster of president Mohamed Siad Barre. "Unless effectively regulated and monitored, such material assistance could be used in committing serious violations of international humanitarian law," warned the rights group.
by Staff Writers
 London (AFP) Jan 21, 2010
 The United States is sending shipments of arms to war-ravaged Somalia which could be used to commit "gross and widespread abuses," Amnesty International warned Thursday.

In a report on the unstable Horn of Africa nation, the London-based rights group detailed shipments of weapons from the US to the internationally backed Somali transitional government.

These deliveries -- which included mortars, ammunition and cash for buying arms -- were to bolster the administration as it tries to defend the small area it still controls from fierce attacks by Islamist rebels, Amnesty said.

But the rights group raised fears the weapons could be used by government forces in "indiscriminate attacks", or could fall into the hands of armed groups opposed to the government who were frequently responsible for abuses.

Fighting in Somalia killed thousands of civilians last year and displaced hundreds of the thousands more, it said.

Amnesty said the transfers took place "despite substantial risks that such types of weapons could be used in indiscriminate attacks by (transitional government) forces."

Arms could further be "diverted to armed groups opposed to the (transitional government), who also commit gross and widespread abuses," the Amnesty statement said.

"Amnesty International has called for arms transfers to the Somali government to be suspended until there are adequate safeguards to prevent weapons from being used to commit war crimes and human rights abuses."

Somalia has been without an effective government since 1991 and the transitional government controls only a small part of the capital Mogadishu, according to Amnesty.

Forces backing the weak administration are battling an Al-Qaeda-inspired hardline Islamist group called Shebab, which controls large areas of south and central Somalia.

"International concern for the future of the Somali government has not been matched by an equal concern for the human rights of civilians," said Michelle Kagari, Amnesty's deputy director for Africa.

A UN arms embargo on Somalia has been in place since 1992 but states can apply to the UN Sanctions Committee for exemptions to supply security assistance to the country's government.


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