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On Friday an EU conflict expert warned that Ethiopian and Somali forces may have committed war crimes during heavy artillery shelling in the capital, and that foreign donors could be complicit.
"I need to advise you that there are strong grounds to believe that the Ethiopian government and the transitional federal government of Somalia and the African Union [peacekeeping] Force Commander, possibly also including the African Union Head of Mission and other African Union officials have through commission or omission violated the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court," he said.
The warning was made in an email to Eric van der Linden, the chief EU official for Kenya and Somalia.
A Somali human-rights organisation has said that more than 1,000 civilians were killed or injured during the clashes with local militias.
"The European Commission is now very concerned about any allegations of war crimes and they are going to look into those alleagtions themselves," Tom Porteous, director of Human Rights Watch, said.
"... if it does emerge that the transitional government and the Ethiopians have committed war crimes then that would be very embarrassing for the European Union which has been funding the transitional government and the Ethiopians."
On Friday an EU conflict expert warned that Ethiopian and Somali forces may have committed war crimes during heavy artillery shelling in the capital, and that foreign donors could be complicit.
"I need to advise you that there are strong grounds to believe that the Ethiopian government and the transitional federal government of Somalia and the African Union [peacekeeping] Force Commander, possibly also including the African Union Head of Mission and other African Union officials have through commission or omission violated the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court," he said.
The warning was made in an email to Eric van der Linden, the chief EU official for Kenya and Somalia.
A Somali human-rights organisation has said that more than 1,000 civilians were killed or injured during the clashes with local militias.
"The European Commission is now very concerned about any allegations of war crimes and they are going to look into those alleagtions themselves," Tom Porteous, director of Human Rights Watch, said.
"... if it does emerge that the transitional government and the Ethiopians have committed war crimes then that would be very embarrassing for the European Union which has been funding the transitional government and the Ethiopians."
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