14th August 2013
Press Statement: AMISOM Troops Commit Brutal Gang Rape in Mogadishu, Somalia
On the 8th August 2013, a 20 year old Somali woman was kidnapped close to her village in Yaqshid district, Mogadishu and brutally raped by AMISOM forces. The woman in question was initially approached by a group of five armed personnel, four men and one woman, in Somali government uniforms who claimed that she was being arrested for suspected involvement in terrorist activities. She was informed she was being taken to the police station for investigation; instead she was taken directly to Maslah Military Camp which houses AMISOM troops in Hurwaa District. She was drugged and then raped by a number of men, understood to be members of the AMISOM forces. It is believed that the Somali’s who initially arrested her did not participate in the rape itself, but served as intermediaries to bring her to the AMISOM troops. She was finally released on the 10th August after having been kept inside the barracks for nearly 2 days.
The Somali Women’s Development Centre, based in Mogadishu, provided emergency response services to the woman with medical and psychosocial support and has instigated legal action. A medical report has also confirmed the injuries sustained by the woman in question is consistent with being raped multiple times. The woman however is now with a secondary organisation for further support.
It is understood that the Somali Military Court arrested two of the five persons connected with the initial kidnap of the woman, a Somali man and woman. The actual perpetrators of the gang rape are still to be arrested. It is understood that the case is to be transferred to the Somali Police Force and that investigations are ongoing.
As yet, it is unknown what action is being taken against the perpetrators of the gang rape.
Additional information currently coming to light indicates that there may be further Somali women held inside the Maslah military camp who are being used for sexual purposes.
A spokesperson from the Somali Women’s Development Centre stated that, “The recent gang rape of this young woman is one of the many brutal incidents of sexual violence women and girls in Somalia are facing on a daily basis. Irrespective of the wealth, status or nationality of the perpetrator, justice must be served and the Somali government should see to it that no perpetrator walks free.”
Hala Alkarib, Regional Director of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa stated that:
“The United Nations and the African Union must address the repeated incidents of vulnerable Somali women being raped by AMISOM troops. Sexual Violence and Impunity have been known within international military deployments for many years – this abuse should be stopped immediately and be addressed at the highest levels, both within the AU and the UN. There is no justification for military forces committing rape under any circumstances. Rape and enslavement are brutal crimes against which the international community must take concrete steps to address.”
For more information, please contact Joanne Crouch at SIHA Network on +256 779 386 476 or joanne@sihanet.org
Foreigners will never solve somalia's problems. The past 23 years shows that.
Do they expect these thousands of HIV infested jareer to suddenly become gay when they leave their wives in Uganda?
Occupations (which is what AMISOM are currently doing in south somalia) throughout history have been accompanied by rapes, massacres and so on.
Mogadishu has and still is holding 5.8 million somalis who reside in Somaliland and Puntland back.
Somaaliweyne is a dead dream.
Mr Bosaaso you surely get point
Deadliest so far and more to come'. Where is the dignity?
Bosasso,
Do not hide under the cover of Somaliland. Somaliland has a history of being an independent country, where pirateland was and still is part of Italian Somalia. So, those of you who are from Pirateland, do not confuse the world by Identifying yourself as if you are just like Somaliland. NO, you are not!
We are, to a certain extent as independent of xamar as naasa hablood is. The only difference of the top of my head is yous actively want and campaign for seccesion, which at certain times I also want for puntland, along with many others.
For as long as Amisom, KDF, EDF are engaged inside failed Somalia without a functioning
atrong Somalian Govts with ZERO National IRS and fully rationed by the IC/UN foreign
handouts aid donations, the Sovereignty of failed Somalia since 1991 would remain deeply
up for the scraps. Here you folks are talking about a single young Somalian has been raped
while in fact the whole Sovereignty continue under peril acrimony of untold misery and total
anarchy and/or in discomposure. The day that failed Somalia is free from Foreign Military
missions, Amisom and all others, would be the beginning of measurable progress of
this Islamic Somalia into gaining laudable peace and stability.
Cheers.
I do not understand why people are so surprised that the Bantus, mainly Uganda and Burundi serving in Mogadishu has been accused of raping a young woman, I am sure they also raped men. What the hell, its a Somali men and woman who lured this young woman and took het to the Jareer's camp to be raped. We should also remember the Mooriyaan militia in Mogadishu are the same guys that have been raping with immunity for the last twenty years, they just happen to be wearing different shirts now. Some of you are asking that where is our dignity, well we don't have any. Our dignity has long been hijacked by tribe.
You guys are stupid for deleting my comment. Unless you support the rape of this girl, I suggest you let my comment go through. A bunch of H@bro who censor every comment they don't understand. You can learn a lot from Hiiraanonline.com.
kkkkkkkkkkkk. This topic and the picture do not related. kkkk.
Here is the topic related to this picture..
Somali women have taken to carrying weapons to the beach to ward off sexual harassment, it's reported.
They're plagued by men at the Lido resort, in the capital Mogadishu, according to the Garoweonline website. Describing the beach's "buzzing and pulsating atmosphere", the report says many women come with families, while others sell ice cream or drinks. It quotes one woman as saying they're always pestered by "rude men" and are often offended, angered or sexually harassed. Extra police have been deployed to the resort to protect young women, says the news outlet, based in the semi-autonomous Puntland region.
A woman holds a machete as she enjoys the surf with a friend and two children at Lido beach
Sexual violence has been a growing problem in Somalia in recent years, with some of the 1.1 million people displaced by conflict – and often living in tarpaulin shacks – particularly at risk. Despite this, the authorities and media have been accused of not taking rape seriously. The founder of the Sister Somalia organisation, which runs a rape crisis centre in Mogadishu, told al-Jazeera news in January that it dealt with up to seven new victims a week. The UN recorded 1,700 rapes in the capital's 500 camps last year, many thought to have been carried out by security forces.
This is why Somaliland needs to stay away and from Somalia and build itself up. I dont understand how people can live like that for 23 years and think there is nothing wrong with it.
Are you crazy, Landers are raping everyday in H.Town, 21 men raped 2 women returning from the masjid.
We should be concentrating about stopping rape in Somaliland as it has reached al alarming rate, who is going to censor the internet that the youth are watching on their phones while being corrupted.