Opinion - News Analysis   

‘Mogadishu sliding back into anarchy’

Women and children injured by stray bullets and mortars during fighting in the Somali capital of Mogadishu are being turned back at military checkpoints as they try to reach hospitals, the United Nations children’s agency has said.

Describing the humanitarian situation in the city as the worst since 1991 — the last time Somalia had an effective government — Unicef’s representative for the country said the restrictions meant “people are being left behind in the streets to die.” The roadblocks are manned by government and Ethiopian troops, who are battling to contain a growing insurgency.

“The lack of respect for basic humanitarian principles from all sides is horrific,” said Christian Balslev-Olesen. “It’s violence, harassment ... terror against the civilian population.”

The conflict has already forced 600,000 people, more than half of Mogadishu’s population, to flee the city since February. More than a third of those fled in the past five weeks as fighting escalated.

Hopes of a ceasefire are dim. Somalia’s transitional government has made little effort to reach out to political opponents or the guerrilla fighters, who in turn have vowed to fight until the Ethiopian occupation ends. The insurgency is broad-based, comprising remnants of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC), chased out of Mogadishu by Ethiopian forces last December, as well as militias controlled by warlords opposed to the government.

The abuses by government forces and the insurgents fit the pattern of impunity that has plagued Somalia for 16 years, and U.N. officials and diplomats admit they have little leverage over either party.

Besides the blocks on medical access, Unicef said that both government-allied militias and insurgents were recruiting children to fight. It also noted an unprecedented amount of sexual violence against women, particularly at checkpoints. — ©Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2007

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Will communalism work again?
A promising engagement
Russia heading for power reconfiguration
Has the good become the enemy of the best?
When readers find an incomplete picture
‘Mogadishu sliding back into anarchy’
Dangerous politics
On public health
Rural service

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu