US making Somalia worse

A U.S. human rights group said Monday that failed policies by the United States and other foreign governments are exacerbating the crisis in Somalia as the country endures a deadly Islamic insurgency and rampant piracy. Somalia has been in chaos for nearly two decades, and the country's Western"backed transitional government has failed to assert any real control since it was formed in 2004. It relies on troops from Ethiopia for protection, and has lost most of the country to Islamic fighters. Human Rights Watch, a New York"based group, said the U.S. has been so focused on fighting terrorism that it has overlooked the shortcomings of Somalia's government. "The United States, treating Somalia primarily as a battlefield in the 'global war on terror,' has pursued a policy of uncritical support for transitional government and Ethiopian actions, and the resulting lack of accountability has fueled the worst abuses," Human Rights Watch said in a report Monday. U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack called the charge "ridiculous." He referred to past U.S. expressions of interest in working with "all parties who want to ... work towards a better future in Somalia." "It just so happens that the transitional federal government is such an institution," he said in Washington. "It's not exclusive. Those who want to make a constructive contribution to Somalia's future, we're willing to take a look at how we might work together." He added that "the United States, as well as other countries, have also made extensive efforts to ensure the continuing flow of humanitarian goods into Somalia," The Human Rights Watch report said the European Union's executive commission has advocated direct support for the government's police force "without insisting on any meaningful action to improve the force and combat abuses," the report said. The European Commission had no immediate comment on the criticism. Thousands of civilians have been killed or maimed by mortar shells, machine"gun crossfire and grenades in the insurgency. The United Nations says Somalia has 300,000 acutely malnourished children, but that attacks and kidnappings of aid workers have shut down many humanitarian projects. Somalia has been without an effective government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a dictatorship and then turned on one another. The rights group also accused all sides in the conflict–the government, the Ethiopian troops and the Islamic insurgents–of committing war crimes and other serious abuses for indiscriminately firing on civilian neighborhoods almost every day. "The combatants in Somalia have inflicted more harm on civilians than on each other," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "There are no quick fixes in Somalia, but foreign governments need to stop adding fuel to the fire with misguided policies that empower human rights abusers." The United States fears that Somalia could be a terrorist breeding ground, and accuses a powerful insurgent faction known as al"Shabab of harboring the al"Qaida"linked terrorists who allegedly blew up the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. Ethiopia recently announced it would withdraw its troops by the end of this month, leaving Somalia's government vulnerable to insurgents, who have captured most of southern Somalia and even move freely in the capital, Mogadishu. The Shabab declared an Islamic state in a region of southern Somalia on Sunday, establishing posts including a governor, security official and chief judge, according to the U.S"based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist sites. The declaration is the latest sign of the Shabab's steady advance.