Anyone who argues that the Raxanweyn deserved their suffering can only be described as monstrous. Their marginalization began long before the civil war, with government policies aimed at depopulating and repopulating their areas. Some Raxanweyn did join the USC, but only after mass killings and land seizures were well underway. That can only be described as choosing the lesser of two evils. When organizations like the SPM boasted about taking land, they did not frame it as retribution for crimes committed by any Raxanweyn militia.
While the USC mistreated the Raxanweyn, the sources point to the orchestration of nearly half a million deaths by Siad Barre and later his kinsmen, with the aim of appropriating their land.
The loss of half a million lives is a tragic reality, and it is disheartening to see half-hearted arguments suggesting they deserved it for actions that occurred after the government betrayed and began mass killings.
It is crucial to question the lax response to this tragedy and then witness feigned outrage when comparing it to the smaller-scale mass killings of Daroods by the USC. Would one accept the argument that the Hawiye should lack sympathy due to group guilt associated with crimes committed by Barre against them and other Somalis?