However there is clearly an offensive going on, allegedly prior to a "National Reconciliation" conference scheduled to begin on April 16th. Perhaps most significantly, the US new allies are being accused of war crimes.
A senior European Union security official has warned the head of the EU delegation for Somalia and Kenya that military forces may have committed war crimes in Somalia. The official warned that donor countries could be considered complicit in any possible crimes if they do nothing to stop them. The warning was made in an urgent memo to Eric van der Linden, the EU ambassador based in Nairobi, Kenya. The author, whose name was blanked out on the copy obtained by The Associated Press, went on to detail the exact statutes that they believed may have been violated.
The official's email said: "I need to advise you that there are strong grounds to believe that the Ethiopian government and the transitional federal government of Somalia and the African Union (peacekeeping) Force Commander, possibly also including the African Union Head of Mission and other African Union officials have through commission or omission violated the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Apparently whole neighorhoods have been bombed to rubble by a joint Somali-Ethiopian offensive. Alleged targetting of civilians with indiscriminate fire from rockets, tanks and artillery from March 29-April 1 have reportedly killed at least 400 people and wounded about 1,000.
The Bush Administration has a consistent way of choosing allies. The more brutal and outrageous the better. As long as the victims are Muslims, it's ok.
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