#War Crimes Commission (WCIC)

[saxafimedianetwork]

In The Valley Of Death: Somaliland’s Forgotten Genocide

In The Valley Of Death: Somaliland’s Forgotten Genocide

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[facondevie]

 In 1997 evidence of the mass graves in Somaliland were exposed by the heavy rain and flooding. Forensic teams examined 100 mass grave sites and two were identified as the Malko Durduro Elementary School site and the Badhka site. Skeletal remains were found in both locations and afterwards the Somaliland government started the War Crimes Investigation Commission (WCIC) to investigate the atrocities committed by Siad Barre’s regime. The WCIC was able to identify victims and witnesses along with gathering testimonies to help prosecute the war criminals.

“In 1997, heavy rains and flooding exposed evidence of mass graves in and around Somaliland’s capital city of Hargeisa. [1] The bones were found in the vicinity of the former headquarters of the 26th division of the Somali National Army and the notorious execution site known as Malko Durduro.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) independent expert on Somalia, Mona Rishwami, formally requested an independent forensic examination of the sites. [2] On April 11, 1997 Physicians for Human Rights, under the auspices of UNHCHR, conducted an on-site forensic assessment of the mass graves. The forensic team examined over 100 known and alleged mass gravesites. Two sites were identified definitively as mass graves: the Malko Durduro Elementary School site and the Badhka site. At both locations the team found skeletal remains of victims apparently bound together by ropes or cloth ligatures.

In response to cries for redress, the Somaliland government established a War Crimes Investigation Commission (WCIC) to investigate human rights abuses committed by the Barre regime and to support the prosecution of alleged war criminals. For these purposes, the WCIC began to identify victims and witnesses; collect testimony and other evidence; and locate, mark, register, and preserve the sites of mass graves.

In 2001 a report by a UN Special Rapporteur for Somalia indicated that many former military personnel suspected of war crimes and human rights violations had found safe haven in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. To date, only one such perpetrator, General Mohamed Ali Samantar, has been held accountable for his role in the abuses of that regime.”