Gillis, Varela and Foley were detained by pro-government forces in early April, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Pro-government forces have also seized control of most of the urban centres in southern and central Somalia from al-Shabab.

BBC: Somalia's capital Mogadishu hit by deadly car bomb

But nobody from Congo's equally trigger-happy pro-government forces is in the dock.

ECONOMIST: The ICC and Africa: Dim prospects | The

Along with other pro-government forces they have gone on to take control of most of the major towns previously in the hands of the militants.

BBC: Somali and African Union troops enter Kismayo

"President Ouattara's expressed support for impartial justice rings hollow without more concrete action to bring justice for victims of crimes committed by pro-government forces, " said HRW's Param-Preet Singh.

BBC: Ivory Coast: Mass grave exhumed in Abidjan

The U.N. said the Taliban and other insurgents were responsible for 81 percent of the civilian deaths and injuries last year, while 8 percent were attributed to pro-government forces.

NPR: Afghan Official: NATO Airstrike Kills 6 In East

As record numbers of Syrian refugees have poured into Turkey in recent days, fleeing attacks from pro-government forces ahead of Tuesday's United Nations-backed cease-fire deadline, the spectre of sectarian tensions also has stoked fears that this border city could see a replay of the violence that left hundreds dead in the region in the aftermath of a 1980 military coup.

WSJ: Turkey's Shiites Fear Contagion

Last month, al-Shabab lost control of Merca, the third biggest port city after Mogadishu and Kismayo, to AU and pro-Somali government forces.

BBC: Kenya's navy shells Kismayo in Somalia