Amisom to compensate victims of its operations in three months

The African Union Mission in Somalia, Amisom will in the next three months conclude a compensation plan for civilians who suffer harm as a direct result of its operations in the Horn of Africa country.

The AU sanctioned force said compensation may include payments made on moral grounds as opposed to any legal obligations to innocent victims of Amisom operations.

According to Jide Okeke, head of Policy Development Unit at the Peace Support Operations Division, the African Union Commission (AUC), the move would help strengthen relations between Amisom and the local population.

“We want to ensure that we bridge and strengthen the relationship between Amisom and the local communities and this is part of our efforts to win the hearts and minds of the local communities, which is an important dimension for defeating the Al-Shaabab,” Okeke said in a statement issued in Mogadishu.

The Head of Amisom Protection, Human Rights and Gender Unit, Adebayo Kareem, said that Amisom will determine the amount to be paid to individuals or families of innocent Somalis who sustain injuries or die in incidents where Amisom is responsible for such harm.

“You cannot compensate for human life, thus any ex gratia payment made is just a token of our remorse that the incident happened,” Mr. Kareem noted.

The move, the first of its kind in Africa, may see victims paid for damages caused by Amisom personnel.

This follows the drafting of Standard Operating Procedures (SoP), at a workshop in Nairobi, which will standardize approach and coordination among various Amisom departments.

In July last year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Amisom troops in Somalia of killing of six people at wedding in Marka town. The group asked Amisom to investigate the alleged killing by but Amisom refuted the allegations noting the troops were responding to Al-Shabaab attacks.

“Gunning down people at a wedding or anyone else in cold blood as punishment for insurgent attacks will only make things harder for the African Union forces in the future.” said  Maria Burnett, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch said in the report.

Earlier this month, five people were allegedly killed in an Amisom indiscriminate mortar bombardment on civilians area near Janaale town in Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia.