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Collective Punishment RIGHTS War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity in the Ogaden Area of Ethiopia’S Somali Regional State WATCH

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Collective Punishment RIGHTS War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity in the Ogaden Area of Ethiopia’S Somali Regional State WATCH Ethiopia HUMAN Collective Punishment RIGHTS War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State WATCH Collective Punishment War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia's Somali Regional State Copyright © 2008 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-322-6 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 64-66 Rue de Lausanne 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org June 2008 1-56432-322-6 Collective Punishment War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia’s Somali Region Map 1: Ethiopia and Somali Regional State .............................................................. 1 Map 2: Conflict-Affected Zones of Somali Regional State .........................................2 Summary .................................................................................................................3 Methodology ...........................................................................................................8 Note on Terminology...............................................................................................11 Part 1: Background................................................................................................. 12 Political and Historical Context .............................................................................. 13 The People and the Area ................................................................................... 13 The Ogaden and Somali Nationalism in the Colonial Era.................................... 14 The Role of Somalia and Insurgency Movements in the 1960s and 1970s................................................................................................................ 15 The Somali-Ethiopian War over the Ogaden, 1977-78......................................... 16 Mengistu’s “Secret Wars” in Southeast Ethiopia, 1978-84................................. 18 The 1991 Overthrow of Mengistu and the Collapse of Somalia ........................... 19 Ethnic Federalism and the Somali Region under the EPRDF .................................... 21 Implementing Federal Policy: Structures of Control............................................23 Renewed Insurgency and Conflict in Somali Region ...............................................27 The Somalia and Eritrea Connections ................................................................29 Escalation in 2007 ............................................................................................30 Part 2: Violations by the Ethiopian Government .....................................................33 Forced Displacement and Destruction of Villages ..............................................33 Cases of Forced Evacuation, Killings, and Village Burnings ....................................35 Ela-Obo, February 2007 ...............................................................................39 Wardheer and Shilabo weredas, May/June 2007..........................................40 Labiga and Faafan Valley, June 2007............................................................43 Lahelow, June 2007 .....................................................................................47 Malqaqa, June 2007 ....................................................................................47 Warandhaab, June 2007 ..............................................................................48 Wardheer town, July 2007............................................................................48 Reprisal Killings ................................................................................................49 Dalal, February 2007....................................................................................50 Gurdumi, April 2007 ....................................................................................50 Gudhis, June 2007....................................................................................... 51 Aleen, July 2007 .......................................................................................... 51 Qoriley, July 2007 ........................................................................................52 Galalshe and San-Xaskule, August 2007...................................................... 55 Bukudhaba, August 2007 ............................................................................56 Rape and Other Sexual Violence ............................................................................58 Rape of Women in Military Custody ...................................................................58 Sexual Violence against Women Collecting Wood and Water ............................. 61 Arbitrary Detention, Abuse and Torture, and Execution of Detainees ......................63 Arbitrary Arrest and Detention ...........................................................................65 Torture and Beatings.........................................................................................67 Extrajudicial Executions at Military Bases.......................................................... 71 Former Detainees and Collective Punishment....................................................74 Forced Recruitment of Pro-Government Militias ..................................................... 75 “Economic war”: Confiscation of Livestock, the Trade Embargo, and Other Restrictions..................................................................................................81 Effects of the Trade Embargo.............................................................................82 Restrictions on Movement, Herding, and Access to Water Sources ....................85 Restrictions on Humanitarian Assistance ..........................................................88 The Failure of Judicial Protection and the Institutionalization of Collective Punishment ...........................................................................................93 Enforcing the Law..............................................................................................93 Authorizing Collective Punishment....................................................................96 Part 3: Abuses by the Ogaden National Liberation Front.........................................99 Summary Executions and Attacks on Civilians by the ONLF................................99 Attacks on Non-Ogaadeeni Clans and Property................................................ 103 Part 4: Applicable Legal Standards ...................................................................... 104 Summary Executions and Other Mistreatment of Persons in Custody .......................................................................................................... 105 Rape and Other Sexual Violence ..................................................................... 106 Attacks on Civilians and Civilian Objects ......................................................... 107 Forced Displacement....................................................................................... 107 Collective Punishment and Reprisals............................................................... 109 Individual Criminal Responsibility ....................................................................110 War Crimes.................................................................................................110 Crimes against Humanity............................................................................110 Part 5: Responses to Allegations of Human Rights Violations ...............................115 The Ethiopian Government’s Response ............................................................115 The International Response: A Wider Silence....................................................118 The Rationale for Donor Silence on Ethiopia................................................119 Responses to Abuses in Somali Region...................................................... 120 Recommendations ............................................................................................... 125 To the federal government of Ethiopia ............................................................. 125 To the regional government of Somali Regional State ...................................... 126 To the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) .............................................. 127 To foreign governments with influence, including the US, UK, China, and European Union ....................................................................................... 127 To the United Nations Security Council............................................................ 129 To the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations ...................... 129 To oil companies operating
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