Developments in Somalia

The information below is based on the 2009 report of the Secretary General to the Security Council (A/63/785-S/2009/158) issued on 26 March 2009. More information is available in the report.

A situation analysis on children and armed conflict administered by UNICEF and partners, with the participation of community leaders in central and southern Somalia, indicated that approximately 1,300 children have been recruited into the Transitional Federal Government forces, the remnants of the former Islamic Courts Union (ICU), Al-Shabaab and clan-based armed groups throughout central and southern Somalia, particularly in and around Mogadishu. The community leaders informed that boys in Al-Shabaab were used as frontline combatants, and girls were recruited into cooking and cleaning roles. Most of the recruitment takes place from schools. In the clashes in Guriel and Dhusamareb in December 2008, eyewitness accounts indicated that between 30 and 45 per cent of Al-Shabaab combatants were children.

Violence escalated between armed forces and groups, mostly between the Transitional Federal Government security forces, the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) and African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) forces against opposition groups, including the remnants of the former ICU, Al-Shabaab and other clan-based armed groups, and children are often killed or injured in the crossfire. Children have been killed and maimed as a result of indiscriminate attacks that have included the use of artillery, mortar, rocket fire, gunfire and improvised explosive devices in areas with high civilian concentration, including busy market places and residential areas. Reports indicate that anti-government armed groups, including Al Shabaab and clan-based armed groups, used strategies that reduced their visibility in civilian areas, placing civilians at risk, and used children to detonate improvised explosive devices against the Transitional Federal Government and ENDF soldiers.

Rape and other sexual violence were committed by both members of armed forces and groups, as well as civilians, in the context of breakdown in law and order. Children and women living in internally displaced persons settlements in Bossaso, Galkayo, Hargeisa and along the Afgoye corridor reported a large number of rapes. Between July and September 2008, 303 cases (292 girls and 11 boys) were reported in the north-west zone of Somalia. Perpetrators are rarely brought to justice and in some cases victims are forced to marry the perpetrators or be killed under traditional law. In October 2008, a 13-year-old girl was stoned to death for adultery by local authorities after being raped by three men in Kismayo.

Since mid-2007, 144 schools in five districts of Mogadishu were closed at various times, as they were attacked or risked being attacked because the surrounding areas became scenes of conflict between ENDF, the Transitional Federal Government, AMISOM and anti-government armed groups, including Al Shabaab and clan-based armed groups. These included targeted attacks by the Transitional Federal Government on students and teachers of Koranic schools in Mogadishu, owing to the perception that children in these schools are being mobilized to join the insurgency and are therefore considered legitimate military targets. A total of 34 schools were temporarily occupied by armed groups or used as military bases by armed forces at various times throughout the reporting period.

An escalation in the number of humanitarian aid workers who have been targeted has resulted in reduced access to the 3.2 million Somalis, including approximately 1.6 million children, requiring emergency assistance.

Parties responsible for recruitment and use of children

  1. Al-Shabaab: this party has also been responsible for the killing and maiming of children and attacks on schools in the reporting period.
  2. Remnants of the former Islamic Courts Union (ICU): this party has also been responsible for the killing and maiming of children and attacks on schools in the reporting period. Status: No action plan. Dialogue with IUC or any other armed groups in Somalia is seriously impeded by access restrictions and the targeting of humanitarian workers.
  3. Transitional Federal Government (TFG):* this party has also been responsible for the killing and maiming of children and attacks on schools in the reporting period. Status: No action plan. An advocacy campaign against child recruitment targeting armed groups, government officials, and community and religious leaders is ongoing to mobilize broad support for the development of action plans.

Parties marked with an asterisk (*) have been on the annex lists for a minimum of four years.

Press Releases by the Special Representative: