Amnesty International has criticised UN forces in Somalia after receiving reports of killings and unjustified detentions by UN troops. AI says the reports indicate breaches of human rights.
Hundreds of Somalis have been detained for short periods by UN forces since May. Most were released after days or weeks in custody, but some 400 alleged criminals have been transferred to the custody of the new Somali police force for processing by recently re-established Somali courts.
Seventy Somali political detainees are still in UN custody without charge or trial. The majority of these prisoners are being held at the central UN detention facility, formerly the US embassy. At least one prisoner has been detained for two months.
Twenty political leaders of the Somali National Alliance (SNA), led by Mohamed Aideed, were arrested by US troops in early October and are amongst the prisoners. Reports to AI say these prisoners are denied access to relatives, although the Red Cross International Committee has been allowed to visit them. Their legal status is undefined: no prisoner has been charged with any offence, brought before any kind of court, or allowed access to a lawyer. A UN spokesperson said they are being held in "preventive custody" for security reasons.
AI's International Secretariat "are concerned about these detainees as the UN hasn't said why they are detained, on what legal basis, or when they will be either charged with a criminal offence or freed".
AI said it had written to the UN and to the Canadian, Pakistani and Belgian governments, which all have forces in Somalia, about killings of Somali civilians by UN troops.
Two particular incidents involving US troops outside the UN command structure are being investigated by AI. On July 12 US forces killed dozens of unarmed civilians, including Somali elders negotiating with the UN, while attacking a supposed command post of Aideed. On October 3 more than 700 Somalis were wounded in a US operation to arrest SNA leaders.