FNs Højkommissariat for flygtninge er bekymret for påstande om, at regeringen i Yemen skulle være ved at rekruttere somaliske flygtninge som lejesoldater for at slå ned på de voksende protester i befolkningen imod Præsident Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Skriver IRIN News torsdag.
Hala al-Horany, UNHCR protection officer in the southern city of Aden, said the agency had investigated and talked extensively to refugee leaders, but was unable to find even a single anecdotal case of government recruitment among the large Somali refugee population.
“We are concerned about this situation and are still following up as this has serious implications for the protection of refugees in the short and long term,” Horany told IRIN. “We have also conducted awareness-raising in the communities and warned them against even participating in demonstrations, let alone mercenary activity.”
The mercenary allegations were reported in opposition media, including TV channel Aden Live, and according to UNHCR had also surfaced on social networks like Facebook. They echo reports from Libya that embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi had recruited foreign fighters, resulting in the persecution of migrants and workers from sub-Saharan Africa accused – by Gaddafi opponents – of supporting the regime.
