Mass graves found in ex-Ethiopian bases

Mon, 06 Apr 2009

Somalis have discovered the remains of dead bodies from former Ethiopian army bases and at a soccer stadium in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

At least 7 mass graves were exhumed on Monday at the vacated Mogadishu soccer stadium. The remains were allegedly of individuals who had gone missing a year ago and apparently later shot by Ethiopian troops during their occupation of Somalia, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Meanwhile, Somali men recovered dead bodies from 4 others graves in the Tawfiq district of northern Mogadishu. Witnesses said the graves contained between 20 and 31 corpses.

In another disclosure, local residents dug up dead bodies from 9 graves at former Ethiopian army bases in Mogadishu's northern Gupta and Yaaqshid districts.

Conflicts in Somalia intensified and unlawful killings of civilians increased after Ethiopian troops entered Somalia at the end of 2006 to help the 'Transitional Federal Government' fight armed opposition groups, some of whom issued from the Union of Islamic Courts, which was controlling the capital Mogadishu and other parts of the country in 2006.

Ethiopian troops withdrew at the end of 2008 and Abdullah Yusuf resigned as President of the TFG, and was replaced by Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, then leader of the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia- Djibouti (ARS-Djibouti).

MP/MMA