The Legality and Humanitarian Consequences of Ethiopian Armed Intervention in Somalia

The legality and the humanitarian consequences of Ethiopian armed intervention (alleged invasion) in Somalia (2006 to 2009) has been highly contested at the international fora as the intervention has repercussions even today. Despite the controversies that hover around the legality of intervention and the consequent violations of the law of armed conflicts by all parties engaged in the war in Somalia, Ethiopia has always invoked two tenacious justifications for the legality of the intervention: the right to self-defense and intervention by invitation. Besides, contrary to the reports by some International Medias such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, Ethiopia has never acknowledged the violations of international humanitarian law by the Ethiopian Military in Somalia throughout the war. Thus, this article delves in to the context of the conflict (war) in Somalia and the motives (rationale) behind the intervention in order to objectively examine the legality of the intervention and the humanitarian issues related to the Ethiopian Military operation in Somalia in light of international humanitarian law.