Amisom troops patrolling near Kismayo, southern Somalia. PHOTO BY AFP
The UPDF has dismissed allegations of sexual harassment among others contained in a new report released by Human Rights Watch in Nairobi yesterday, accusing soldiers from African Union Mission in Somalia of sexually abusing and exploiting vulnerable women and girls in Somalia.
The human rights watchdog says Ugandan and Burundian troops based in Mogadishu have exploited women’s poverty and lack of food for sex.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) also calls on Uganda and other troop-contributing countries, the African Union (AU), and donors to Amisom to urgently address these abuses and strengthen procedures inside Somalia to seek justice.
“The AU soldiers, relying on Somali intermediaries, have used a range of tactics, including humanitarian aid, to coerce vulnerable women and girls into sexual activity. They have also raped or otherwise sexually assaulted women who were seeking medical assistance or water at Amisom bases,” the press release said
HRW interviewed 21 women and girls who described being raped or sexually exploited by Ugandan or Burundian military personnel.
AU was scheduled to address a press conference yesterday evening but the Uganda military described the report as “offside and false”
“On our part, we don’t condone acts of sexual harassment by our soldiers. But this is not true. If these acts were happening, we would have detected and arrested the culprits. Human Rights Watch is just being insensitive to the sacrifice our soldiers have made,” the UPDF spokesperson, Lt Col Paddy Ankunda, said yesterday.
He also tweeted: “Can a soldier in an APC (Amoured Personnel Carrier) start a conversation with a Somali woman and get to sex? Who has complained? Not Somali government and not the people”.
The report also claims that the AU soldiers rely on Somali intermediaries, have “used a range of tactics, including humanitarian aid”, to coerce vulnerable women and girls into sexual activity.
The investigations didn’t cover areas controlled by other countries like Kenya and Djibouti.
rkasasira@ug.nationmedia.com