Ugandan and Burundian troops serving under the AMISOM are accused of sexually abusing and exploiting Somali women and girls.
Ugandan and Burundian troops serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) are accused of sexually abusing and exploiting Somali women and girls living in their bases in Mogadishu.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a damning report released on Monday, called on the two countries, African Union and donors to address the abuses and strengthen procedures inside Somalia to seek justice.
The report documents the sexual exploitation and abuse of Somali women and girls at two AMISOM bases in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, since 2013.
According to the report, AMISOM troops, through Somali intermediaries, use humanitarian aid to coerce vulnerable women and girls into sex. There were also documented cases of rape and sexual assaults on women seeking medical assistance or water at AMISOM bases.
At least 21 women and girls from displaced communities in south-central Somalia narrated to HRW their ordeals at the hands of Ugandan and Burundian military. Also interviewed were witnesses, foreign observers, military personnel and officials from troop-contributing countries.