The United States has turned a blind eye to abuses by its allies in Somalia and worsened the situation there by reducing a complex conflict to a front in its "war on terror", a leading human rights group said.

US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a letter to African Union Commission chairperson Jean Ping that the policies of many governments had been destructive in Somalia.

"US policy on Somalia has been particularly unhelpful, treating Somalia's complex realities as a theatre in the 'war on terror' while turning a blind eye to rampant abuses by the Ethiopian and transitional government forces," HRW said in the letter that was handed to reporters at an AU summit on Sunday.

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