African Union Mission in Somalia denies troops raped Somali women

The African Union Mission in Somalia has accused a human rights lobby of publishing an “imbalanced” report on claims of sexual harassment by Amisom troops in the country.

Amisom Spokesman Eloi Yao told the Nation on Monday that Human Rights Watch was making conclusions based on “a few” interviews that do not represent the true picture on the ground.

ALLEGATIONS TAKEN SERIOUSLY

“We as the African Union Mission in Somalia take all types of allegations seriously and take them in consideration with our zero tolerance policy on sexual harassment.”

He said the report lacked a holistic view.

Mr Yao added that the lobby claimed their soldiers were immune to prosecution but according to the agreement between Amisom and the Somali government, the immunity is only on civil allegations and not criminal conducts.

On Monday, Human Rights Watch released a report that claimed the EU and UN-funded Amisom troops have been using aid to entice women before raping them.

“Some Amisom soldiers have used humanitarian assistance, provided by the mission, to coerce vulnerable women and girls into sexual activity,” the report titled “The Power These Men Have over Us: Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by African Union Forces in Somalia” stated.

The report alleges that soldiers mainly from the Burundi and Ugandan contingents used Somali intermediaries to access women, many of whom were poor and hungry.

The global rights watchdog documents ten separate incidents of rape and sexual assault as well as 14 cases of sexual exploitation.

All these incidents happened in 2013 and included the youngest victim who was 12, living in Baidoa district of Mogadishu.