MOSCOW, October 23 (RIA Novosti) - Amnesty International lambasted the Dutch government on Thursday for forcibly repatriating Somalis in the Netherlands to the most dangerous areas in Somalia controlled by the Islamist armed group al-Shabaab.
"For some Somalis, being returned to al-Shabaab-controlled areas is akin to being handed a death sentence," L. Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International's Regional Director for Eastern Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, said in a statement published on the organization's website.
"By sending Somalis to volatile areas where their lives are in danger, the Dutch government is also responsible for the human rights abuses they face on their return," he added.
In its briefing "Forced returns to south and central Somalia, including to Al-Shabaab areas: a blatant violation of international law" Amnesty International also called upon the governments of Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Norway and Saudi Arabia to stop this policy.
Al-Shabaab, a clan-based militant group linked with the international terrorist organization al-Qaeda, took over most of southern Somalia in 2006 and later continued its insurgency in southern and central areas of the country.
In May 2014, the UN urged all states granting asylum to Somalis fleeing their homeland against forcibly sending them back to the country.
