Europe's upside down view of war crimes in Somalia

NY Times:

European diplomats said Thursday that they were investigating whether Ethiopian and Somali government forces committed war crimes last week during heavy fighting in Somalia’s capital that killed more than 300 civilians.

The fighting, some of the bloodiest in Somalia in the past 15 years, pitted Ethiopian and Somali forces against bands of insurgents and reduced blocks of buildings in Mogadishu, the capital, to smoldering rubble. Many Mogadishu residents have complained to human rights groups, saying that the government used excessive force and indiscriminately shelled their neighborhoods.

On Thursday, Eric Van der Linden, chief of the European Commission’s delegation to Kenya, said that he had appointed a team to look into several war crime allegations stemming from the civilian casualties. “These are hefty accusations,” Mr. Van der Linden said. “We are examining them very prudently.”

In an e-mail to Mr. Van der Linden marked “urgent,” a security adviser to the commission wrote that there are “strong grounds” to believe that Ethiopian and Somali troops had intentionally attacked civilian areas and that Ugandan peacekeepers, who arrived in the country last month, were complicit for standing by. The e-mail was provided by someone who thought that the issue should become public and its authenticity was confirmed by commission officials.

Ethiopian, Somali and Ugandan officials denied Thursday that their soldiers had done anything wrong.

A war crimes case is about the last thing Somalia’s transitional government needs. Ever since it took control of Mogadishu in late December, the transitional government has struggled to pacify the city and win popular support.

Many Western diplomats had expressed hope that this transitional government, Somalia’s 14th, would end the seemingly interminable chaos that has enveloped the country since the central government collapsed in 1991. But so far, the government has failed to deliver the same level of stability that an Islamist administration brought during its brief reign last year. It was overthrown by Ethiopian-led forces, with covert American help.

Mogadishu has become so dangerous — again — that many residents say they are now doubting whether the government will be able to hold a major reconciliation conference scheduled for mid-April. The Ethiopian military struck a truce with insurgents on Sunday, though, and the past three days have been quiet, giving beleaguered residents a chance to bury their dead.

The European Commission has no authority to prosecute war crimes and would have to refer any findings to the International Criminal Court. But commission officials said they were investigating the accusations because the commission has provided money and technical assistance to the transitional government and the peacekeeping mission here there.

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What is wrong with this picture? Lets start with the fact that the insurgents committed a war crime by failing to wear an identifying uniform. They camouflages themselves as civilians and then uses civilians as human shields. They are wholly responsible for civilian casualties and yet the Europeans do not even give lip service or a thought to prosecuting the real war criminals. It makes you believe that the Europeans are not as smart as they think they are.