Rights Group: Failed US Policies Making Matters Worse in Somalia

Human Rights Watch has released a report today urging the United States, the European Union, and others involved in the situation in Somalia to “rethink their flawed approaches,” arguing that US-backed transitional government, propped up by Ethiopian troops, has failed to establish control over the nation, and has indeed lost much of it to Islamic fighters.

The report entitled “So Much to Fear” argues that all parties involved have regularly committed “war crimes and other serious abuses” in the nation. It also concudes that the conflict has led to the deaths of thousands of civilians and has displaced over a million people, including much of the population of Mogadishu.

Despite international backing, the self-appointed transitional government has struggled to assert itself as Somalia’s government since being expelled from Kenya in 2005. A US-backed Ethiopian invasion of the nation has fueled an Islamist insurgency, which is increasingly gaining control over the country itself.