Nairobi, (insidesomalia.org)- A culture of impunity is the root cause of Somalia's humanitarian and political crisis and unless the world urgently addresses it, war crimes and crimes against humanity will continue unabated, a civil society activist has told IRIN.

"No one has ever been held accountable for these crimes," Marian Hussein Awreeye, chairwoman of the Isma'il Jimale Human Rights Centre, said. "If they had charged even one warlord, it would have been an example and would have discouraged would-be warlords from committing atrocities."

Over 17 years, she said, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced inside and outside the country, while thousands have been killed.

Awreeye accused the international community of turning a blind eye to events in Somalia, "making it possible for people to continue committing crimes and getting away with it".

She said many Somalis were disappointed when the UN Security Council recently renewed the mandate of the African Union peacekeeping force in the country, but failed to "even send warnings or threats of referral to the International Criminal Court [in The Hague], to those who committed horrific crimes.

"Unless the international community seriously deals with the issue, any hope for lasting peace and stability will fade," she said.

Daniela Kroslak, deputy director of the Africa programme at the International Crisis Group, told IRIN that referring crimes committed in Somalia to the ICC may "not necessarily be the best tool to provide accountability. In the case of Somalia, transitional justice processes are more conducive to produce accountability at all levels and produce more results in such a fragile peace process," she said.

On 20 February, the UN Security Council extended the mandate of the AU mission, known as the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), for six months.

Since fighting between Ethiopian-backed government troops and insurgents began in February 2007, close to 6,000 people have reportedly been killed and more than 700,000 displaced.

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