As
Kenya Confirms
Naval Shelling
of Somalia,
Wittig
Reserves
Judgment
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 5 --
After the top
human rights
official at
the UN
in New York,
Ivan
Simonovic,
intoned
Wednesday
morning that
if force
is used to
protect
civilians it
should be
applied very
carefully,
Inner City
Press asked
the UN for the
third time in
a week about
the
Kenyan Navy
shelling
Kismayo in
Somalia.
This
naval
shelling, now
admitted
by Col. Cyrus
Oguna of
Kenyan
military,
is ostensibly
being
done to
protect
civilians. But
after in mid
August the
shelling
killing a
pregnant woman
and two
children,
there was no
response or
explanation.
The
Security
Council on
August 29 issued a
press
statement
about Somalia
without
allowing any
opportunity
for
questioning of
the Council
president at
the time,
Gerard Araud.
On Wednesday
Inner City
Press asked
incoming
Council
president for
August Peter
Wittig about
the Kenyan
Navy's
shelling.
Wittig
replied that
when the
Council last
heard from UN
envoy
Augustine
Mahiga there
was "good
news" that
"AMISOM has
reconquered
territory."
This
shelling of
Kismayo is
part of that
campaign.
Wittig
said that on
these "recent
skirmishes" it
is "too
early to
comment," that
he is
"reserving
judgment."
For how long?
Until it is
over?
Back
on August 30
Inner City
Press asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
associate
spokesman
Farhan Haq:
Inner
City Press:
there has been
a report that
the Kenyan
navy was
shelling
Kismayo and
that they are
not part of
AMISOM
[African Union
Mission
in Somalia].
They are in
support of
AMISOM
military
action there,
but civilians
have been
killed. I just
wondered if
Mr.
[Augustine]
Mahiga, or how
the UN views
essentially
the Kenyan
navy shelling
Somalia.
Associate
Spokesperson
Haq: There has
been no
comment from
Mr. Mahiga
thus
far, but we’ll
check and see
whether there
is anything he
says
further about
these reports.
But
in the four
days
afterward,
there was no
further
response.
Rather,
there were new
reports of
shelling, even
indirectly
confirmed by
Kenyan Army
spokesman
Emmanuel
Chirchir.
And
so at the next
UN noon
briefing on
September 4,
Inner City
Press
asked
Ban's lead
spokesman
Martin Nesirky:
Inner
City Press:
there seems to
be now renewed
shelling of
Kismayo in
Somalia by the
Kenyan navy.
Since this is
African Union
Mission in
Somalia
(AMISOM), I
believe, it’s
either
materially
supported by
DFS
[Department of
Field Support]
and there is
Mr. [Augustine
P.]
Mahiga. What
does the
United Nations
say? Some
people are
saying
these are
random; it’s
not a targeted
shelling, it’s
just a
simply
shelling of a
town in the
name of
peacekeeping.
Is there some
UN response to
this?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
I believe this
has been
raised
already. To my
knowledge,
there is not a
naval
component of
AMISOM. I will
need to check,
but
to my
knowledge
there is not a
naval
component of
AMISOM. But as
I
say, I will
check.
Twenty
fourhours
later, there
had been no
response -
most
importantly,
on
what does the
UN say about
this shelling
of a city in a
country in
which it has
long had a
Political
Office? Why
does the UN
speak out
against such
shelling in
some countries
and not
others?
At
the September
5 noon
briefing,
Inner City
Press again
asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
about the
shelling.
Video
here, from
Minute 4:15.
Nesirky
replied that
"We are
expecting
to have
something to
say on this a
little later."
We'll see -
watch this
site.
, 
