By ABDIKADIR KHALIF
A young woman from Hamarbile area of Mogadishu was recently reported to have been gang-raped by Ethiopian soldiers.
While many people sympathised with the 18-year-old, others were skeptical that the Ethiopians could engage in such an emotional act because there has never been reports of abuse against them, despite being in the country in their thousands.
The Ethiopians are supposed to be here to stabilise the security of Somalia, especially the capital, said some of their supporters.
An earlier allegation of rape made by a mother of two had not attracted much attention, because people and human-rights activists probably thought it was a fabricated story, meant to smear the Ethiopians.
“The fact that Suban exposed her dilemma to the media in the company of her husband made the tale rather suspicious,” said a city resident.
Besides such incidents raising suspicion over the presence of the Ethiopian forces in Somalia, the the downing of an army helicopter on March 30 also showed what some feel about the foreign troops in Mogadishu.
Aerial strikes by the Ethiopian helicopters were aimed at accomplishing missions at different places, said Mohamed Hussein Dibi, an Islamist sympathiser in Mogadishu, but “putting a nasty chopper out of combat must be a relief for the fighters.” In mid-March, too, another incident, in which a mob dragged the dead bodies of two government soldiers along the streets was yet another demonstration that sections of the Somali community have only developed hate over the past decade and half, said an opinion writer in a local paper.
For many people, the war situation is worrying, especially since there is no clear winner in the contest. The insurgents set up roadblocks, and use snipers to attack their enemy.
This has created the impression that Addis Ababa is likely to face a situation similar to that confronting US troops in Iraq: A war with no end in sight.
The Ethiopian troops and the TFG forces, on the other hand, prefer shelling from defunct government stations and makeshift barracks.
The most dangerous areas to live in include Fagax, Casa Poplare and Ali Kamin crossroads in North Mogadishu, former military headquarters of the former Somali army better known for its Italian name Commando Esercito.
These places are densely populated, but women and children have since fled, leaving the men to guard their properties.
The TFG forces and their Ethiopian supporters reached Mogadishu four months ago, not as humble visitors but a show of force. But this has not intimidated the insurgents.
People are now wondering about the “stabilisation” role of the Ethiopians.
“The Ethiopians are just invaders with the ultimate objective of colonising Somalis in Somalia as they oppress the Somalis in the Ogaden region inside Ethiopia,” said a sympathiser of the insurgents. “It is struggle against occupation.”
But for others, the intervention is timely. “The Ethiopians stand for a noble course; not only to help the stabilisation of the TFG’s institutions, but also to initiate harmony among the people’s of the Horn of Africa region,” said a TFG sympathiser.
A series of international gatherings has also praised Ethiopia for bringing about the biggest opportunity for Somalia to regain its statehood.
The Contact Group for Somalia’s talks in Dar-es-salaam and Cairo, the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa and the Arab League Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, have all praised efforts by Ethiopia.
Indeed, the UN Security Council and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development have said that Ethiopian troops should not leave until they are replaced by competent peacekeeping contingencies from the AU or the UN.
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