* News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International *

28 March 2001
AFR 52/006/2001
57/01

Amnesty International today condemned the kidnapping of several
humanitarian aid workers in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, and
expressed concern for the safety of those still held by a local
militia.

"Taking humanitarian workers hostage is an appalling
abuse of human rights. Such actions contribute nothing to the
restoration of peace and security in Somalia. This abduction is
only one more brutal act in a ongoing circle of violence,"
Amnesty International said.

"The people of Somalia have already suffered too many
human rights violations, and civilians have had to endure abuses
for far too long," the human rights organization said. "Both
Somalia's Transitional National Government and those opposed to
it claim that they want to transform Somalia into a safe and
secure country, where human rights are respected. But if even
humanitarian staff cannot carry out their work freely, without
threats or intimidation, the future for human rights in Somalia
looks very bleak indeed".

Nine humanitarian aid workers were abducted in Mogadishu
on 27 March 2001 after gunmen loyal to Musa Sudi Yalahow, a
faction leader whose militias control part of Somalia's capital,
attacked the compound of the international aid agency Médecins
Sans Frontières (MSF) - Spain in northern Mogadishu. The aid
workers included three expatriate staff of the international aid
agency MSF and six Nairobi-based UN staff who were in Mogadishu
on a three-day visit to assess ongoing polio and cholera
projects.

In heavy fighting that ensued between militia members
loyal to Musa Yalahow and troops supporting Somalia's new
Transitional National Government (TNG), an unconfirmed number of
people, including possibly over a dozen civilian bystanders, are
reported to have been killed and an unknown number of persons
wounded.

Although five of the hostages were released and handed
over to the TNG early this morning after negotiations between a
local politician and militia members, four UN staff are still
held captive at two separate locations in northern Mogadishu. A
spokesman of Musa Yalahow has been quoted as saying that the
hostages had been taken to show the international community that
Mogadishu was still not safe.

Amnesty International is appealing to those responsible for the
abductions to release the remaining hostages, and until they are
released to guarantee their safety and physical integrity.

Background
After the fall of the Siad Barre regime in early 1991, Somalia
was without a central government for almost ten years. Following
a peace conference in Arta, Djibouti, a new Transitional National
Government (TNG) was appointed in August 2000. The TNG has the
support of the United Nations and parts of the international
community, but several militia leaders in Somalia continue to
challenge its legitimacy and have recently formed an alternative
"Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council" with the aim of
organizing another peace conference within the next six months.

The security situation in Somalia, and particularly
Mogadishu, has deteriorated in recent weeks and several armed
clashes between different militias, as well as between militia
members and a newly established TNG police force have left at
least 20 people dead, many of them civilians. In an attack on the
provisional headquarters of the TNG in Mogadishu, three people
were killed on 22 March 2001 and several others injured.

Amnesty International's condemnation of abuses committed
by armed opposition groups does not imply recognition, or
condemnation of any of these groups. The organization's sole
concern is the protection of human rights. Both the transitional
government forces and militia members in Somalia are bound by
Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which requires them
to treat those taking no active part in hostilities humanely and
not to subject them to acts of violence such as killing, torture
or hostage-taking.

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