Somalia: Ethiopian forces killed a mentaly diable man

Published on Thursday 10th July 2008

Somalia: Ethiopian forces today killed a mentally ill man in Afgoi District in Lower Shabelle Region in southern Somalia later on Wednesday according to eyewitnesses.

The incident took place when the man passed unexpectedly at a post for Ethiopian forces. The mentally disturbed man was told to stop by the Ethiopian soldiers, but ignored the order and was shot.

The man is called Abukar Ganey and was very well known in Afgoi He was admitted to hospital with injuries and later died.

One of Mr Abukar Ganey's relatives has confirmed that he had a mental disorder.

This is the fifth time that the Ethiopian forces are killing people with mental illnesses.

A Horn of Africa researcher for the London-based Amnesty International human rights group, Martin Hill, adds that the situation in Somalia has something in common with Darfur: allegations of widespread human rights violations by all sides in the conflict.

"The question of war crimes was documented by Human Rights Watch," said Martin Hill. "But very recently, the U.N. Secretary General's new representative for Somalia mentioned that these were crimes that could be investigated by the International Criminal Courts.
 
The crimes we are talking about are killing of civilians, which are arbitrary and disproportionate, arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial executions, and disappearance of civilians."

The Washington Post newspaper reported earlier this month that a debate is taking place among decision makers in the Bush administration about whether to remain committed to Somalia's transitional federal government or to find another way to stabilize Somalia and the region.