Somalia Govt Admits Rape by Army

{{After months of denial, Somalia’s government has for the first time acknowledged that its security forces were involved in rape cases that drew an international outcry by human rights groups.}}

Army commanders often denied accusations that soldiers were involved in a spate of rapes, attributing the crimes to al-Shabab fighters who allegedly wore army uniforms to smear the reputation of the military.

“Those few among the security forces who rape and rob our citizens must be fought and be defeated just like Shabab,” President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said while speaking to military cadets at a training camp in the capital, Mogadishu, on Monday.

“Criminals who commit rape ought to be opposed just like [al]-Shabab,” Mohamud said in a statement issued by his office.

He also affirmed that his government would “fight those who rape as he’d fight al-Shabab”, referring to the rebel group fighting his government and the African Union forces in Somalia.

{Aljazeera}