The African Union (A.U.) has faced little enthusiasm for missions in Somalia. The A.U. has a mandate for a 26,000 strong hybrid force with the United Nations to monitor activities in the troubled Darfur region. The A.U. mandate for Somalia, however, has called for 8,000 troops, with only 1,600 have been actively deployed. The HRW report claims the crisis in Somalia has largely been ignored, noting that the mission signaled the A.U. “was apparently unwilling to act” in the region.
Somalia has been embroiled in conflict since 1991 and has largely been overshadowed by the larger crisis in Darfur. Since 2006, Ethiopian and Somali troops have been battling an insurgent inspired by Islamic fundamentalist groups and the conflict there has resulted in a humanitarian crisis not seen in over a decade. In the early 90's, the international community intervened in Somalia to prevent humanitarian disaster and to root out rebel leaders. The effort was largely abandoned after The Battle of Mogadishu resulted in the death American soldiers – famously depicted in the film “Black Hawk Down.”
The HRW report criticizes the neglect from the international community, stating that the situation in Somalia “is a conflict that has been marked by numerous violations of international humanitarian law that have been met with a shameful silence.”