Internationally-funded African Union troops in war-torn and impoverished Somalia have gang raped women and girls as young as 12 and traded food aid for sex, Human Rights Watch said in a report Monday.
"Some of the women who were raped said that the soldiers gave them food or money afterwards in an apparent attempt to frame the assault as transactional sex," the report said.
The AU force AMISOM said the allegations would be investigated but argued they were "isolated" incidents and called the report "unbalanced and unfair".
The 22,000-strong AMISOM force, with soldiers drawn from six nations, have been fighting alongside government troops against the Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents since 2007.
The vulnerable women largely came from camps in the capital Mogadishu, having fled rural Somalia during a devastating famine in 2011.
AMISOM donors include the United Nations, European Union, Britain and the United States.
The report, based on testimonies from 21 women and girls, said the AU soldiers "relying on Somali intermediaries, have used a range of tactics, including humanitarian aid, to coerce vulnerable women and girls into sexual activity."
"They have also raped or otherwise sexually assaulted women who were seeking medical assistance or water at AMISOM bases."
The youngest interviewed was just 12. She said she was raped by a Ugandan soldier.
Several of the women described how they had gone to the AU camp seeking medicine for their sick babies.
"The findings raise serious concerns about abuses by AMISOM soldiers against Somali women and girls that suggest a much larger problem," HRW added.
But AMISOM commander, Burundian General Silas Ntigurirwa, said the report documented "allegations of isolated cases of rape".
The African Union said: "These allegations will be thoroughly investigated, and appropriate measures will be taken if they are found to be true."
But the AU said it noted "with deep concern the imbalance, inaccuracies and partial view contained in the HRW report".
It said HRW had used "a small number of cases to arrive at a generalised conclusion".
- 'Desperate for food and medicine' -
HRW said in only two cases had the women who spoke to HRW filed police complaints, because they "feared stigma, reprisals from family, police, and... Al-Shebab."
The cases investigated by HRW involved troops from Burundi and Uganda.
AMISOM troops launched a major offensive last month aimed at seizing key ports and cutting off an important source of revenue for the Islamist rebels.
HRW urged the force needed to do more to prevent abuses by its troops, and punish those who sexually abused women.
"As another food crisis looms in Mogadishu's displacement camps, women and girls are once again desperate for food and medicine. They should not have to sell their bodies for their families to survive," said HRW Africa head Daniel Bekele.
Conditions in Somalia remain dire, with the United Nations and aid workers warning that large areas are struggling with extreme hunger and drought, three years after famine killed more than a quarter of a million people.
The UN last week said over a million people were classified in either "crisis" or "emergency" situations, just one step short of famine on its hunger scale.
The mother of one girl who was raped told HRW she was deeply traumatised by the attack.
"People laugh at her whenever she comes out. They say, 'An infidel raped her'," the mother said.
Women reported contracting sexually transmitted infections, mainly gonorrhoea, after the assaults, with soldiers refusing to wear condoms.
"Several also described being slapped and beaten by the soldiers with whom they had sex," HRW added.
Internationally-funded African Union troops in war-torn and impoverished Somalia have gang raped women and girls as young as 12 and traded food aid for sex, Human Rights Watch said in a report Monday.
“Some of the women who were raped said that the soldiers gave them food or money afterwards in an apparent attempt to frame the assault as transactional sex,” the report said.
The AU force AMISOM said the allegations would be investigated but argued they were “isolated” incidents and called the report “unbalanced and unfair”.
The 22,000-strong AMISOM force, with soldiers drawn from six nations, have been fighting alongside government troops against the Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents since 2007.
The vulnerable women largely came from camps in the capital Mogadishu, having fled rural Somalia during a devastating famine in 2011.
AMISOM donors include the United Nations, European Union, Britain and the United States.
The report, based on testimonies from 21 women and girls, said the AU soldiers “relying on Somali intermediaries, have used a range of tactics, including humanitarian aid, to coerce vulnerable women and girls into sexual activity.”
“They have also raped or otherwise sexually assaulted women who were seeking medical assistance or water at AMISOM bases.”
The youngest interviewed was just 12. She said she was raped by a Ugandan soldier.
Several of the women described how they had gone to the AU camp seeking medicine for their sick babies.
“The findings raise serious concerns about abuses by AMISOM soldiers against Somali women and girls that suggest a much larger problem,” HRW added.
But AMISOM commander, Burundian General Silas Ntigurirwa, said the report documented “allegations of isolated cases of rape”.
The African Union said: “These allegations will be thoroughly investigated, and appropriate measures will be taken if they are found to be true.”
But the AU said it noted “with deep concern the imbalance, inaccuracies and partial view contained in the HRW report”.
It said HRW had used “a small number of cases to arrive at a generalised conclusion”.
– ‘Desperate for food and medicine’ –
HRW said in only two cases had the women who spoke to HRW filed police complaints, because they “feared stigma, reprisals from family, police, and… Al-Shebab.”
The cases investigated by HRW involved troops from Burundi and Uganda.
AMISOM troops launched a major offensive last month aimed at seizing key ports and cutting off an important source of revenue for the Islamist rebels.
HRW urged the force needed to do more to prevent abuses by its troops, and punish those who sexually abused women.
“As another food crisis looms in Mogadishu’s displacement camps, women and girls are once again desperate for food and medicine. They should not have to sell their bodies for their families to survive,” said HRW Africa head Daniel Bekele.
Conditions in Somalia remain dire, with the United Nations and aid workers warning that large areas are struggling with extreme hunger and drought, three years after famine killed more than a quarter of a million people.
The UN last week said over a million people were classified in either “crisis” or “emergency” situations, just one step short of famine on its hunger scale.
The mother of one girl who was raped told HRW she was deeply traumatised by the attack.
“People laugh at her whenever she comes out. They say, ‘An infidel raped her’,” the mother said.
Women reported contracting sexually transmitted infections, mainly gonorrhoea, after the assaults, with soldiers refusing to wear condoms.
“Several also described being slapped and beaten by the soldiers with whom they had sex,” HRW added.
