NL must keep Somalian refugees: Amnesty International

Amnesty International has asked the Netherlands to stop the return of Somali refugees. Somalia is too unsafe, says the organization. The terrorist group al-Shabaab is active in Somalia. They are guilty of gross human rights violations. According to Amnesty International, people are being sent back to parts of Somalia where al-Shabaab "murders, tortures and treats people badly". According to Amnesty this is in breach of international law, which requires that people not be sent to areas where their life or freedom is at risk. "Deportation is in some cases equal to the death penalty." In September last year the Netherlands deported a Somali to the capital Mogadishu for the first time in years. Even though it was, according to Minister Teeven, already safe enough for one year, other Somalis managed to fight their deportation successfully. Amnesty is not only asking the Netherlands to stop deporting people to Somalia. Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Norway and Saudi Arabia have also been addressed. The fight against al-Shabaab has been going on in Somalia for months. After a series of attacks in the Mogadishu in September, the United States intervened with an air strike.