In Golweyn, a town deep in the Somali heartland, Omar Hassan Warsame was known for his generosity and leadership. His vast farm provided not only a bounty of corn and bananas but also a lifeline for locals, offering jobs and sheltering the community from the harsh seasons.
At 65, Omar and his team, up to a dozen strong, busied themselves with tending to their fields. Located in the Lower Shebelle region, about 110 kilometers from Mogadishu, his farm often stood as a beacon of stability against the regular droughts that struck the area.
On a seemingly normal day in August 2021, everything changed when Ugandan soldiers from the African Union (AU) stormed his land. Though Omar often interacted with officials, perhaps due to his role in the community, what happened next was bewildering and tragic. The soldiers inexplicably opened fire on Omar and his workers.
“They were gunned down mercilessly,” stated his nephew, Mohamed Abdi, to Al Jazeera. “Omar was a revered leader who was kind to us all. The entire city grieved our loss.”
The massacre at Golweyn, which claimed seven civilian lives, sent shockwaves through the nation. Protests erupted from Mogadishu to Lower Shebelle, demanding the ousting of foreign forces. While a Ugandan court initially sentenced the soldiers involved to death, these sentences were later nullified.
Serving under the banner of AMISOM, AU forces arrived in Somalia in 2007 to fend off al-Shabab, the al-Qaeda-linked group seeking dominance over the government. Though intended for peacekeeping, civilians have suffered amid their clashes with armed militants, with an estimated 4,000 killed between 2008 and 2020.
AMISOM troops, rallied from nearby nations, bear the burden of stymying al-Shabab’s reach while anchoring the Somali government. Hailed for their role in this effort by entities such as the United Nations and the U.S., accusations of abuse against civilians trace back to the mission’s early days.
Ever since the image shift to ATMIS in 2022, coming full circle with a scheduled exit at year’s end, bereaved families clamor for overdue ‘blood money’—an atonement rooted in cultural and religious traditions.
“Peacekeepers behaving like marauders,” Mohamed’s voice carried weight, demanding accountability from Al Jazeera. “What’s their distinction from al-Shabab?”
Long beset by rival clans and a fragile central administration, Somalia has wrestled with disorder since President Siad Barre’s downfall in 1991. The emergence of the Islamic Courts Union prompted Ethiopian intervention in 2006, and eventually left behind the al-Shabab insurgency.
Amid these events, AMISOM’s mandate paved the way in 2007, bolstered by billions in global investments to reinforce the Somali military. Despite these efforts, parts of the nation languish under rebel control, and expansion of government forces remains spotty.
As ATMIS gears for withdrawal, merely patchy improvements abound in a security landscape where al-Shabab’s lethal reach persists in haunting civilian targets.
Feeling the sting of financial fatigue, shrinking EU backing presents ATMIS with challenging operational crossroads, impacting even AU compensation structures for those affected by peacekeeping conduct.
Compensation remains an elusive promise as communities grapple with unresolved grievances from the violence inflicted upon them. ATMIS’s departure plan raises questions about future deterrents to potential atrocities.
“Met with victims, spoke frankly of ATMIS’s fiscal pinch, detailed things” Comorian diplomat Mohamed El-Amine Souef shared. “A courtly proposal indeed, left issues between Mogadishu and Addis, a technical unit’s domain.”
Despite efforts and talks, justice flounders in the shadows of diplomatic rifts over Ethiopia’s nod to North Western State of Somalia’s aspirational autonomy.
The heartache of those bearing the toll of peacekeeper and militant confrontations surfaces as unresolved, shrouding their calls for amends.
“No one takes accountability,” Omar remarked, “Our community seeks solace, stories left unclosed while foreign powers wield influence.”
Edited by: Ali Musa
alimusa@axadletimes.com
Axadle international–Monitoring
