Cirwaaq wrote:They were a coalition united under the banner of islam and even where there were differences between certain groups within the coalition they had a common shared goal.
they were all hailing from one clan who undet the banner of USC had commited the following
Genocide in Mogadisho
Mogadisho was the capital of Somalia, a country that for 21 years endured atrocities and bloodshed under the dictatorship of Siyad Barre. By 1990, Siyad Barre lost control of all the regions and basically became the "Mayor of Mogadisho'. In December 1990, the United Somali Congress ( USC), an armed opposition group formed in 1989, infiltrated Mogadisho and brought the civil war to the capital. In the ensuing battle for the capital, Siyad Barre's regime indiscriminately bombarded the city with heavy artillery and ground to ground missiles, leading to heavy civilian casualties and total destruction of parts of the city. Somalia became totally isolated from the rest of the world community after all forms of communication systems with the outside world were cut and all the personnel of the embassies and aid agencies were evacuated out of Somalia.
The exclusively Hawiye USC armed militia succeeded in ousting the ruthless dictator from Mogadisho and in January 1991, Siyad Barre fled to Garbaharey, an area inhabited mostly by Barre's clan of Marehan (a Darood subclan). From the smothering ruins of Mogadisho, a new era of terror began for the non-Hawiye civilians especially for the Darood clan members. The USC militia started consolidating power in Mogadisho leading to exodus of non-Hawiye residents from Mogadisho to the southern towns of Somalia. Eye witnesses reported house to house mopping up operations by the USO militia. The militia combed the city looting and killing innocent civilians if they are identified as a non-Hawiye Irrespective of their previous opposition to the regime of Siyad Barre.
In recent reports, individuals who infiltrated Mogadisho under disguise and visited the residence of some Darood individuals confirmed systematic killings of Darood civilians. They reported that Mogadisho has been divided into 8 sections and each section was assigned to a subclan of the Hawiye. The division of Mogadisho into 8 gang like sections from the previous sub-divisions of five followed after number of Hawiye sub clans' militia who have not been given piece of the pie", engaged in turf skirmishes.
The non- Hawiye civilians are subjects of these neighborhood gangs and are unable to protect or vie for themselves. Thousands of non-Hawiye civilians who fortunately survived Barre's indiscriminate shelling were murdered by the USO militia In a mopping up operation In Mogadisho. The Darood civilians ln 'particular are either executed on the spot or taken to courts in which the likes of Jillacow reside over. Jillacow headed Siyad Barre's most hated Security Police (N.S.S.) in the Benadir region and was nicknamed In the 1970s as the "Night-Stalker.0 It is Ironic that Jillacow today decides the fate of the Majerten ( Darood subclan) residents of Mogadisho whom he terrorized in the 1970s and 1980s' His sole merit for being In USC leadership in Mogadisho today is being born into the Hawiye clan, which seemed to have cleansed him of all the previous crimes he committed against humanity under Barre's dictatorship for 21 long years.
In addition, the non-Hawiye civilians who have not been executed have been reported to be holed up in the homes of Hawiye families who have been long time residents of Mogadisho. These families who are either direct relatives ( i.e. maternal relatives) or affiliated through marriage, endanger their own lives by providing sanctuaries for the hunted families. In one specific reported case, the house of a Darood family was protected 24 hours by a son-in-law and his brothers, who are armed to the teeth. Despite the good intentions by Hawiye elders some of which would like to see a peaceful city, the true rulers of Mogadisho are ruthless armed Hawiye militia. It has also been reported that Inter clan killings between the Hawiye militia occur daily.
Further leaks from Mogadisho contend that some of the non-Hawiye families have been collected and housed in the old Fair-grounds in Mogadisho. It is not clear if they are hostages or refugees, since some of them have been abducted from towns outside the Benadir region.
The individuals who infiltrated Mogadisho compiled a list of Darood elders, intellectuals and prominent leaders who have been murdered by the USC ( see Attachment A). The people who have been executed in Mogadisho by the USC militia have been estimated to be in the thousands, and the attached document is not comprehensive. This document is the tip of the iceberg. USC has embarked on a campaign to liquidate the most productive manpower of the Darood family clan. Few non-Hawiye professionals who have been fortunate enough to have escaped Mogadisho a week ago, recount living through a month of nightmare. According to the escapees, USC death squads have been given a list of well known non-Hawiye professionals and elders who have been selected for extermination for no other reason than being born into non-Hawiye clans. In the attached document, more than 100 of the elders and intellectuals executed by the USC are the Majerten clan (Darood subclan) who have been the first group Siyad Barre targeted in his brutal repression. The majority of the members of the first armed opposition against Siyad Barre, the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF started in 1978) were Majerten and the Barre regime had brutally repressed popular uprising in the regions of Mudug and Bar! where the Majerten clan predominantly live. Others murdered by the USC, include an American educated professor, Ibrahim Mohamed Abyan of the Dulbahante clan (a Darood subclan) who was member of the Manifesto core group of 46. Abyan was an intellectual who opposed the Barre regime but had the foresight to select peaceful transition to a democratic society.
From all indications, things are chaotic and out of control and the radical extreme elements have the upper hand in the USC leadership in Mogadisho. The USC had sabotaged the hopes of all Somalis for a democratic country with all the rights entailed in a democratic institution. Most Somalis envisioned a rule of the law and not another rule of the gun. In a multi-clan society, a militia mobilized along clan lines, financed along clan -lines, armed along clan lines and ruled along clan lines can never be elevated to represent all sectors of the society. Hence, USC can not be elevated to a national level and it has shown itself to be nothing other than a Hawiye militia. The USC leadership on the other hand sought to couple the economic power attained through the 21 years of collaboration with the corrupt dictatorship of Siyad Barre with political empowerment.
The USC leadership in their quest 'for political empowerment, summoned a new era of indiscriminate Darood genocide while providing a haven for Siyad Barre's Hawiye top officials. In fact, over thirty of Barre regime's top officials are in the among USC's leadership in Mogadisho. Hussein Kulmiye Afrax, Siyad Barre's right hand man and Vice-President through out regime's tenure, today remains as the principle leader of the USC in Mogadisho. In contrast, the wives and the children of poor non-Hawiye janitors have to run for their lives. As a result of hideous policy of extermination adopted by the USC, they have created an unprecedented collapse of Somali nationalism and initiated a new era of inter clan war in the south and center of Somalia.
We appeal to all peace loving members of the world community, non- profit agencies, and countries to undertake an comprehensive action to save guard the lives of the non-Hawiye residence of Mogadisho. The USC leadership can be pressured to release all non-Hawiye civilians who have virtually become hostages. If things deteriorates further, it is highly possible that not a single non-Hawiye resident in Mogadisho would be alive. A timely negotiation and evacuation can save the lives of thousands of people. This idea may seem far fetched, but the USC militia depends on the NGO's for emergency assistance and some pressure on USC can yield a productive result. Silence would only allow USC to succeed in its inhumane campaign against the innocent Somali civilians.
We also urge all human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, and Africa Watch to investigate into these atrocities being committed against the innocent Somali civilians. The USC leadership abroad has chosen to consider the civilians dispensable for the sake of legitimacy and hunger for power. If the atrocities are widely publicized, these USC leadership might be forced to take a more corrective actions.
We appeal to all countries and aid agencies to assist the thousands of refugees who lost their homes, assets and loved ones to the USC and are today either living in camps in Kenya or living in besieged over crowded towns such as Kismayo that are being continuously attacked by the USC.
We also implore the world community to send food, doctors and medicine to the central towns such as Gal kayo ( in the Mudug region), where the USC recently attacked and slaughtered over 300 families mostly women and children at 3:00 AM on February 26. It is ironic, that USC had not yet attacked Siyad Barre's strong hold in Garbaharey, while attacking the Mudug region that revolted against the Barre regime 14 years ago and had managed to oust Siyad Barre's regime out of the region prior to the formation of the USC in 1989.
