Washington (Sunatimes) A coalition of eight leading human rights groups has written a letter to the U.S president Barack Obama, demanding for clarification regarding the U.S role in potentially unlawful detention and interrogation operations in Somalia.

In a press release, rights groups organized by Human Rights First asked the U.S president to come clear the alleged United States’ role in the unlawful detention and interrogation centre in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Recently UK based right group has revealed that the U.S runs a secret detention and interrogation centre in Mogadishu, where the CIA and other U.S. agencies and departments were allegedly accused of involving in interrogating detainees held in a prison in Mogadishu that does not meet international standards for humane treatment.

Human Rights First’s Raha Wala said If the United States is directly participating in or supporting the interrogation of detainees held in this Somali prison, it is responsible for ensuring the humane treatment of these detainees.

The coalition letter to president Obama points out that under an executive order signed by him, the CIA should not be in charge of detention or interrogation operations.

The executive order also required that the detention and interrogation of all terrorism suspects be conducted in accordance with international law.

Wala said any forcible transfer of a detainee must be accompanied by robust due process protections to ensure that the individual in question is not transferred to a substantial risk of torture or abuse.

Wala added that president Obama shuttered the CIA’s so-called ‘black sites’ to ensure that detainees would not be abused and held incommunicado, stating that the current allegations suggest that the CIA may be supporting detention and interrogation operations in Somalia that are in violation of the laws that the President has sworn to uphold.

The coalition letter called on the President to provide additional information on U.S. involvement in detention, interrogation, and transfer operations in Somalia.

It also asks for clarification on the steps the United States is taking to ensure humane treatment of detainees held by its Somali counterparts.

The recent reports have also alleged that the United States continues to be involved in renditions – transfers of terrorism suspects to third countries – without ensuring sufficient due process protections.

The Obama Administration has yet to articulate a policy to govern such renditions consistent with its international and domestic legal obligations.